


A Change in Constellations

by AncientCountry



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Eventual relationship, F/F, F/M, Multi, Science Fiction, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, eventual sinning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-25 16:03:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6201841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AncientCountry/pseuds/AncientCountry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As an adventurous human being, you find yourself caught in a bit of a pickle, actually quite a few pickles that you hadn't expected to be stuck in. The journey that awaits you will be life changing - for better or for worse, you don't know. Just another experience you can say has altered the life you've been living all alone. Maybe you're cut out to be more than just a drifting soul skimming the edges of the vast universe in the silence of space. The world spins differently for you so suddenly, unfamiliar and uncharted, but all the more exciting. (Illustrations included!!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mishaps Are Fun...Right?

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so, I'm posting this to give myself a bit more push to get passed this writer's block of mine. I'm currently writing multiple stories, so there is literally no schedule set for this story. This will be my first story posted here, so I'll have to figure things out, maybe get help from you guys. Anyway, have fun reading.

__

_“How long is it going to be this time,”_ your aunt's voice was almost completely static as you listened to her through the car speakers, “ _a week? You're always out and never just sleeping and relaxing! Aren't you tired?”_

“Auntie just calm down, it's just another exploration and like always I'll be back before you know it,” you sighed while picking at your thermal one suit that clung to your body, “I've done this hundreds of times, it's made me money to help you guys take care of the house, gram and gramps and I come back with neat things right? Plus, it's like they say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder',” you could practically see the wrinkles that formed on her forehead as she groaned exasperatedly.

“ _That's not it honey I just,”_ her words faltered as you continued to watch the road before you, “ _something just doesn't feel right this time_ ,” you bit your cheek at that response as you were pretty vague about your plans, but that's how you always were, “ _where did you say you were exploring this time?”_

“Mo-er auntie,” you glanced at a sign that read in giant worn letters 'DO NOT GO PAST THIS POINT' and rolled your eyes while turning off the beaten and worn road, “don't worry, I'll be back and I'll have gifts when I come to visit alright? Now I have to go.”

“ _Alright ______…I love you_ ,” your chest tightened at the words, for a woman who didn't share terribly too much affection, it was definitely clear that she was worried.

“...Yeah, I love you too, talk to you in a few weeks,” you hung up the phone and sighed, “okay, let's just get going.”

* * *

 

You were flooring your vehicle, trying to pull the trapped tire out of the ditch that slipped your vision, grumbling and muttering to yourself in irritation, “not now, I don't have time for this,” gripping your hands into the seat, you slammed your foot down even harder, “C'MON!”

Once you realized it wasn't going to budge, you sighed in defeat, “...fine,” shutting off the engine, you were at least grateful that you were trapped in a nice shade of trees, “it'll keep the car cool while I'm gone,” glancing out the window, you rubbed your hands together.

A quiet early morning welcomed you as you stepped out of the car, birds beginning to chirp through the dead time, “alright,” pulling a few ropes, clips and other equipment from your trunk, you glanced up to your destination in the distance, “Mt. Ebott, here we come.”

* * *

 

_“Long ago, two races ruled over earth, MONSTERS and HUMANS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell-”_

_“But why would they do that,” you interrupt your grandfather's reading of the old leather book he'd used to get you to sleep for the past 3 years that he's baby sat you – it was your favorite in a sad way, “that's so mean, I bet they were so nice!”_

_“You always say the same thing every time _______,” he chuckle_ _s_ _while he lightly tickle_ _s_ _your sides, “...out of fear my dear.”_

_“What's there to be afraid of? Monsters are so cool,” you pout while slapping your hands on your blanket dramatically, “...I don't get it grandpa.”_

_“Unfortunately, you will when you're older,” you watch the sadness that crosses his features, “now may I finish?”_

_You pull the blankets up to your nose and give him the go with your buggy eyes and an erratic nod, “mhmm!”_

_“Alright, now where was I,” he return_ _s_ _his glasses to their place and r_ _uns_ _his fingers along the old paper, “..._ _'Legends say that those who climb Mt. Ebott...never return'-”_

_“I'll climb that mountain one day,” you furrow your brows with determination, “and I'll bring every monster back to the surface too! I'll come back and everyone will live together and be happy!”_

_“Is that so,” he chuckles at your statement and gently runs his hand over your head, “I'm sure you will my dear...I'm sure you will.”_

* * *

 

Taking a swig of your water, you set the container aside while looking over to the plateau you just found, “this looks like the place,” setting up your equipment, you glanced around, “...no wonder there's so many stories about this place...no one wants a kid wandering around some place THIS isolated, of course they go missing,” glancing around, you wondered if you were even able to get phone service with how far you were – your aunt was mostly static over the phone so it wouldn't have surprised you if there was nothing there, “hmmm.”

Clipping yourself into a few straps, you waddled your way over to the edge of the large opening, “okay,” carefully bending over, you checked to see if there was any bottom to begin with as you clicked on your recorder, “well, I've finally gotten around to doing what everyone else in the world refuses to do...explore Mt. Ebott – geez as if the ridiculous child stories were even real,” you noticed yellow glaring back up at you from below, “I've come across a large mass of collapsed ground and far below there are...flowers,” you grunted while turning around, leaning your weight against the rope, “I'm going a few feet in to see if there is any room for exploring and then I'll dress and bring equipment, if not then...well, this journey was fruitless and busts all those child stories...sorry gramps.”

Clicking the recorder off, you took another glance down to the bottom and carefully pushed yourself off the edge, descending a couple feet before looking around, “this is pretty uncultured for a place quarantined for hundreds of years,” sliding the rope, you let yourself down a few more feet, “are those chrysanthemums,” laying yourself as far back as possible, you squinted your eyes, “carnations maybe? They look pretty-”

 

CRACK!

 

Your heart leaped into your throat as you glanced back up to see the hole growing smaller as you plummeted toward the underground, “Oh god,” twisting your body around, all you saw was yellow before your vision went completely black.


	2. Adventures Are Fun...Right?

__

_“How many times huh? You've got cuts all over you _____, you need to stop being so reckless and be more careful,”_ _the woman_ _scolds you as you pick at the band aids_ _she_ _had just placed, “we won't have_ _any band-aids by the end of the week_ _if you keep hurting yourself.”_

_“Awww but-”_

_“No buts.”_

_You pout as she continues to pull twigs and other objects out of your hair, “I'm just trying to save the monsters!”_

_“This again,” she rubs her temple and gets up rather quickly, stiff and angry, “I'm gonna have to talk to that old man...they're just stories _____, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that,” she exits the room, leaving you sad and gripping at your wooden stick weapon._

_“They're not stories…right grandpa?”_

* * *

 

Sunlight beamed down on your closed eyelids, turning everything red as you groaned to life, “ooooh man,” every inch of your body ached, but most of all, your chest felt heavy, “what...what happ-oh crap,” shooting upright, you glared up towards the hole you had just fallen through, “how…how did,” you tugged at the rope that had piled up on you and stared in awe at the clean slice that had apparently cut into your equipment, “what the heck can cut THAT cleanly?! UGGGH,” dropping back down onto the bed of flowers, you rested your arm over your forehead while pulling out your phone, “service?”

To your surprise, you had four bars, “hmmm,” you scrolled through your contacts and left your aunt a small little text, “sorry, I'm definitely gonna be longer than usual,” dropping your phone to your chest, you covered your eyes in irritation, “...now what?”

The sound of the surface was completely inaudible, an uncomfortable silence filling the cavern as you continued to ponder your situation – you were surprisingly calm, “might as well go with exploring,” although the current predicament killed your vibe, you honestly didn't want to sit there as you still carried a good amount of adrenaline from the drop, “...alright.”

Standing yourself up, you were happy to find no major injuries save for a few cuts and bruises as you dusted yourself off, “let's see,” to your surprise, there was a smoothly paved walkway that led down a hallway over to your right, “...wow, ancient architecture,” stepping out of the bed of flowers, you hoped they were okay as you traversed the small hall, coming to an intricately carved doorway, “interesting,” heading through, you noticed a small patch of grass in the center of the room, but there was nothing there, save for a small hole. The space was dark.

Whatever was going on with the room, you found yourself feeling a bit strange, “just keep moving,” you power walked your way to the other side of the room when chills ran down your spine, _someone's watching me._ Taking a quick glance back, you bit the inside of your cheek as you found nothing different from when you first entered, _just keep going._

Sighing, you continued into the next room, a nice ballroom space with large stairs leading up to another door – red petals were carefully laid out along the floor, “this is definitely made by someone intelligent,” heading up the steps to keep yourself from getting caught on excitement, you continued into the next room, “well this is a change of pace.”

Two small bridges arched over a couple of underground streams, giant yellow arrows were painted on the walls, aiming at levers, “hmm,” the way the entire room was setup, you surmised everything was an already solved puzzle, “was this some kind of maze game for children?” the puzzles were simple and yet little guides were still set up around the room.

Heading to the opposite side of the room, you passed a small hallway where you found a worn dummy sitting rather oddly in the corner – its body was slightly ripped and fuzz was coming out the seams, “poor thing,” you merely glanced over to it before heading through to the next room.

Your walk consisted of the same routine for probably half an hour – you were confronted by a puzzle that was already solved that you could only assume was for children, everything was used and set aside, so you were able to simply walk through the rooms like normal, save for a room full of spikes which you were quickly able to realize was child safe – until you finally came across what looked like a doorway with a sign written in worn letters hanging above it.

“I wonder,” taking a peek inside, you immediately noticed wooden flooring that looked rather clean and worn from years of use, “hmm, what's that smell,” you realized that the place looked to be someone's home, “hello? Is anyone here? I hate to intrude, but,” you carefully stepped inside as quietly as the creaking wood would allow, glancing around at the furniture – a shelf full of books sat next to a flight of stairs along with a vase full of flowers on top of a table on the other side, “they look fresh,” glancing down both hallways, you decided to head for the delicious scent when a cold wind drafted through the stairway, brushing your legs, “must be an exit.”

Acknowledging the fact that you didn't know if anyone was even home, or alive and your were simply smelling some old food, you gave up on your quest toward the smell. The stairs creaked awkwardly as your boots thumped against the planks in silence. The farther you descended, the colder it became, “this is so weird,” the environment looked the same yet changed rapidly, you honestly didn't know how to process the whole situation. _A labyrinth of children_ _s'_ _puzzles, a warm cozy home full of furniture and books,_ _I've come across an ancient civilization! What else is there?_ You reached the end of a lengthy hallway where little droplets of water littered the ground.

“Hmmm,” peeking around the corner, your eyes widened at a giant door hanging slightly ajar, “oh my goodness,” cautiously, you approached the heavy looking mass and jerked at the sight of snow piled up in the center of the walkway, “...wait,” taking a closer look, you realized the substance was much finer than frozen water, “dust?”

Staring at the white granules, you evaluated that it wasn't a new occurrence. In the past few rooms, you had come across piles of what looked like white sand or dust that lay about in random areas of each room. They looked so out of place with all of the recently used equipment. You felt ill as the giant pile gave off a sickening aura, _I should get going._ Careful as to step around the stuff and not disturb it in any way, you returned your attention to the door.

“Wow it's cold,” pulling your sweater tighter around your body, you peeked outside where, to your surprise, you found...snow, “I..oh my goodness,” bare trees lined a snowy trail, “this is incredible,” stepping out of the cozy stone walls, you felt a cool breeze blast through your sleeves as you followed the path carved out of the snow, “I don't understand how this is working, but everything looks to be alive and thriving down here,” you remembered that you had lost your recorder during the fall, but speaking to it was already habitual in nature, “it's amazing, something like this would only be found in fairy tales...an underground forest!”

The wind picked up, biting harshly at your nose, “hmm,” wrapping yourself even tighter, you glanced up to find what looked to be a child in the distance – their arms were wrapped tightly around their sides, a blue sweater with pink stripes clinging to their tiny frame, “hey! Hey kid are you alright?” you began jogging your way over, but the child started moving a bit faster in response to your foot falls, “hey, slow down, you're not hurt are you?” catching up to them rather quickly, you approached them in a wide arch, giving them some space to let you know you weren't trying to assault them before moving closer, “hey, you okay?”

They kept their gaze glued to the floor, avoiding any form of social queues that you dropped for them to acknowledge your presence, “I'm not gonna hurt you...may I?” you wanted to help them as quickly as possible to ensure they were healthy and uninjured, but they didn't respond to you in anyway, “hey you're shivering,” out of time and patience to try and garner a reply, you stripped yourself of your thin sweater and dropped to your knees, quickly wrapping it around the child in hopes of giving them some heat – they flinched for a moment, but you quickly put your arms around them, “you're turning blue, we gotta get you someplace warm. You can understand what I'm saying ri-”

Your breath hitched as something cold and sharp entered your abdomen, breaking the flesh beneath your skin and sending searing hot pain through your vitals, “Wh—what?,” pulling back out of mere instinct, you felt warm liquid begin gushing from your torso as you narrowly avoided another strike to your body, “h-hey, you didn't,” not wanting to see what was flowing so freely out of you, you simply placed your palm onto your stomach, pushing yourself away from the child while trying to keep your breathing steady.

                                                             

 

“Another human?” a cold quipped voice played for your attention, you found two bright red eyes glaring at you in shock, “I...you're new,” the child sighed as their shoulders shrugged in apology, but you know there was no sorry laced in the gesture, “I haven't seen one of you in, lord knows how long,” chuckling aloud they're pupils seemed to shrink into little pinpricks as they continued to muse, “humanity makes me sick...maybe,” their lips curled into an inhuman smile while approaching you like a predator calculating just how to strike again, “maybe I can tease that stupid flower with your soul...before I kill them again.”

“Hey kid y-”

“N-n-n-no,” a twitch suddenly rushed through their whole body as incoherent slurring slipped through their lips, hands jerking about erratically for a moment before they regained composure, “you're not in control,” they growled airily while shifting away for a second and blinked a couple times before rubbing their cheek, “now where was I...oh yes, you,” they sung that last word lightly for you before glaring you down with a dark hunger.

You felt your throat clogging up with liquid as you continued to try and get away, “how about this,” they gestured as though bargaining with someone, finger pressing against the tip of their blade, “since you're new to the cycle, I'll make sure this is nice...and slow next time,” the kids eyes widened with feral excitement as you struggled to even protest their trade, “it'll be fun...I promise,” watching the stained knife rise above their head, you felt ice run down your spine, “be killing you again soon.”

Reflexively, you flinched as the sickening sound of snapping bone and rupturing flesh echoed in your ears. You felt no more pain than your previous wound. Blood spattered against your face and you continued to gawk at your now immobile assailant – they were piked by large polesripping into their torso and intestines, blood trailing down the white sticks. The child gagged while failing to pull themselves off before glancing around shakily. They looked frustrated beyond all reason rather than scared as if they could care less if they were bleeding out to death. You continued to stare until you collapsed back into the snow, your body finally growing sluggish from the ever-flowing liquid, _I'm gonna die._

“h-hey,” a voice echoed off to your right, but you could barely focus, “oh god, too late,” you felt cold boney fingers grasp at your arms, “c'mon---hear me kid,” blue entered your blotchy vision, but you couldn't really sense anything anymore, “I'll...I'll, my heal---ood enough,” everything slowly began blurring, “see you---few...please--hope,” your heart stopped beating.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT STORY'S OVER! GO HOME! THERE'S NO MORE!  
> ...
> 
> Alright fine, there's more.  
> OKAY, since the beginning chapters (like 2) are WAY shorter than the ones I'm working on now, I'll slowly...SLOWLY post them mini babies for you guys to read. I don't like uploading when I don't have a good chunk of the story written so, this is just a treat for you guys to get a tiny and rather vague taste of where the story will go. Anyway, I also wanted to talk about possibly uploading a little illustration for each chapter if possible. I know, I have too many hobbies (hence, why writing is slow when it comes to me OTL). Either way, expect some to pop up within the week...possibly.  
> Also, thank you so much for all of the feedback from the first day of just having the PROLOGUE uploaded. You guys are a lot more supportive than the FF community, at least from what I'm seeing right now.


	3. Talking Creatures Are Fun...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of the short babies for you guys. I think I've got like one, possibly two more of them to post and then you might not hear anything for a bit, save for illustration updates and such. I'm thinking of going back and inserting a chapter between this and the next one though, just to slow things down a little bit. Either way, look forward to the next chapter...with patience. XD

Sunlight beamed down on your closed eyelids, turning everything red as you groaned to life, “ooooh man,” every inch of your body ached, but most of all, your chest felt heavy, “what...what happ-oh crap,” shooting upright, you glared up towards the hole you had just fallen through, “how…how did,” you tugged at the rope that had piled up on you during your state of unconsciousness and stared in awe at the clean slice that had apparently cut into your equipment, “what the heck can cut THAT- hmmm?” you noticed a body in a blue sweater with pink stripes laying in the bed of flowers beside you, “oh my god, kid are you alright?”

Shifting onto your knees to try and get a better look at them, you examined their body carefully, “hey, you there?” bringing your ear down to their chest, you were able to locate their heart beating quietly, “oh thank goodness, I didn't even-hurgh,” in a matter of seconds, the kid had their tiny hands wrapped around your neck, thumbs pressing into your windpipe, “h—eghh,” getting your hands around their tiny wrists you squeezed them and shoved them off of you, “what's your proble-HEY,” they tried to attack you again, so you tackled them and rested your knees on their shoulders, “calm down alright,” you watched them continue to struggle against you, “c'mon kid just breathe-”

“DON'T CALL ME KID,” they practically shot daggers at you with their fierce gaze, a wild animal locked behind their eyes, “I HATE YOU! HUMANS ARE DISGUSTING-”

You honestly didn't know how to respond to their attempted assault and venomous screeching, “I don't know what your problem is, but we literally just met,” moving your knees off of them, you quickly pressed your palms on their arms to keep them in place, “now...tell me, are you alright?” checking their skin for any abnormalities, you gave them a stern look before putting your knee back on their arm to run your hand against their forehead, “you don't feel hot or anything, do you need water or s-”

“STOP IT!” you read complete and total fury in their eyes – they seemed to flicker from black to red, “stop being so nice,” biting the inside of their cheek, they shook with frustration, “I don't want your pity you bitch! You're ruining everything!”

You were unfazed by the child's rant, however, the ball of tantrum needed to be contained immediately, “...what pity?” their face twisted at the curt click of your voice before softening, but they continued to glower, “I could care less about your problems, because you're a bratty little child who clearly doesn't want anything but problems,” sighing, you closed your eyes for a second – they took the moment to breathe as well, exhaling with you, “but if you're injured, I will help you, so I can get a move on,” looking back at them, you caught a glimpse of sadness before they looked away from you, “I'm not leaving you alone unless you tell me to kid.”

“Don't call me---fine,” the child muttered irritably, you noted quickly that they clearly had something they were hiding, “just let me go,” you hesitantly complied to their request, allowing them space to rub their arms to get the blood flowing into them again.

“Now is there anything that hurts, other than cuts and bruises?” you waited for their response or possible rebuttal, you pleasingly received a negative grunt, “cool,” you eyed them for a moment to ensure they weren't lying, something felt vaguely familiar, but you shrugged it off.

“Alright, now,” standing yourself up, you felt your bones pop as you stretched, “we should get going now,” stepping off of the bed of flowers, you turned to acknowledge the child – they were deep in thought, “you coming?” you smiled softly.

As if they were in a completely different world, they were trembling and pressing at certain spots of their torso, like something was wrong. You continued to watch in case of a seizure or something, but didn't speak since it seemed like they wanted silence. Their lips moved, you didn't care to read, but you picked up the words 'different this time' before you finally grew a little antsy.

“Short stuff.”

“Hmmm?-oh...yeah whatever,” they flinched slightly as you gently took their hand into yours as they stood, a heavy blush crossing over their cheeks when they simply held your hand back.

“Hmm,” looking around the cavern, you felt as though you'd already been down there before, “...a hallway,” you both traveled down the stony pathway, crossing an intricately carved doorway, “this is...strangely familiar,” stepping inside as your fingers brushed against the beautiful stone, you noticed a patch of grass sitting in the middle of the room, “hmmm...weird,” suddenly the child's hand gripped you even tighter, “wh-”

“Howdy,” a small squeaky voice caught your ear as you turned to spot a single flower in the center of the patch of once empty grass, a large smile plastered beneath two...eyes, “I'm Flowey, Flo-er umm,” you noticed that the plant had gone tense, it's black beady eyes looking distraught, “...Flowey the...the umm flower,” it's eyes seemed to be locked on the kid next to you as if anticipating something, you noted that their face was harshly pressed into your side.

“Just ignore him,” you quirked at the quietness of their voice as they softly nudged you to proceed, “...he's not worth the trouble.”

Glancing back over to the flower, you caught a glimpse of complete malice in it's eyes before it changed back to a stressed smile, “err what was I saying?”

 _Talking flowers...this is something else,_ “right umm, well I'd hate to take up your time Mr. uhh Flowey,” you tread your way around the plant cautiously, making sure that you had enough distance to keep from invading their bubble or stepping on a stray root or something, “so we're just going to move...along,” giving them a smile yourself, you watched its own quickly fade, “you take care now.”

“ **I know what you did to them** ,” the child's sudden rock hard grip on your arm caused you to turn around to see the speaker, but there was nothing, even the flower was gone.

“Let's...just get going ok-”

“Oh my goodness,” jerking back around, you found yourself standing before a rather tall...goat woman, “are you two alright?”

“Ummm,” you could feel the kids face practically crushed into your side now as you continued to stare, flabbergasted at the creature before you, “we...oh umm yes, we had actually fallen down into a hole a moment ago. A-are you the resident of this place? If so, do you know a way for us to get out?” you could only infer that gawking was rude, so you chose to contain the barrage of questions that had instantly threatened to spill at the sight.

                                                                

A visible frown crossed the goat-lady's snout as she glanced between the two of you, “these are the ruins...there isn't a way out. Seeing this unfortunate predicament I would like to prepare you for anything that...might wish to harm you,” as she looked to the child beside you, you noticed the motherly aura that hovered about her, “I'm sure you would like to keep your child safe.”

“What-oh no no no, this isn't my kid,” you waved dramatically while chuckling a bit at the legitimate question, “I found them when I fell...we met a few minutes ago,” the woman frowned, “isn't that right kid?”

“…,” they didn't respond, simply clinging to you even more.

“Erm, they weren't like this when I met them,” you gave the woman a nervous smile, unsure of the sudden rigid persona the kid decided to take up in the course of a few minutes, “I don't know what's gotten into them-”

“No worries,” she squat before the two of you and gently touched the child's arm, their body visibly jumping at the giant paw, “it's alright my child...I know I'm not what you humans are...accustomed to, but I mean you no harm,” her soft voice seemed to even make you relax with generic sing song words for a child, she was definitely a motherly figure, “please...would you look at me?”

Waiting for the child to move, you felt their nails practically digging into your skin now as they pulled their face away from your side to simply stare hard at the ground in front of the woman, “I'm sorry, I'm not sure why they're acting so-”

“It's alright,” she stood abruptly and nodded to you kindly, “they just need time...if you would follow me please, I'd like to take you through a few...puzzles.”

“Ummm,” you could feel your hand shaking in the childs' grasp, “sure, would you go ahead? I'd like to talk to'em for a second,” you saw the reluctance in her tall frame, but she willingly obliged and moved into the next room, “hey,” squatting down to their level, you noticed how twisted their face was in agony, “...are you alright?” a few seconds past before they nodded, eyes refusing to meet anything but the ground before them like it was the most interesting thing in the world, “there isn't anything you need to tell me...is there? Like you're allergic to goats err something,” hoping the little jab would garner a response, you tilted your had quizzically.

“No...just...let's go,” they continued to tremble like a leaf, but they made no effort to look at you and yet still clung to your hand. Standing yourself, you made no more word of their behavior and followed in the goat woman's footsteps.

Passing a few rooms, you stopped to acknowledge the goat creature as she welcomed you with a warm smile, “ahh, you're here,” you didn't know if the woman had been anxious that you wouldn't be coming, but she seemed rather elated once you stepped into her line of sight, “wonderful, now my child,” she stretched her large hand out to you, so you took it, _warm_ , “I would like to have them...solve these, I'd rather they feel more comfortable with the place,” glancing down, you noticed that their hand was no longer glued to yours as they stood a couple inches away from you, “it's a simple exercise, we will keep watch over them of course.”

“Umm, alright,” you weren't leaving the kid, so it wasn't too much to ask, “they just gotta solve puzzles and we can move on...sounds fun,” smiling, you allowed the woman to guide you to the side.

“Now my child...allow me to educate you in the operations of the ruins,” you casually watched the two, mostly the mother goat, interact with each other – it was heartwarming how kind the woman was.

As time past, you couldn't help but laugh inwardly as the goat was a little too overly sensitive toward the child, basically spoon feeding them each and every solution to the problems of each room. They had crossed by a few other creatures, she irritably shooed them off with an icy glare before any tussle broke out. She was as motherly as motherly could've been to someone. Deep down, however, you knew there was something off kilter with the woman. The _way_ she took care of things and how she'd furrow a brow sadly at some of the quirks the child showed, it was almost as if she were broken somehow. By the time she realized it, they were already passed all the puzzles and standing in a rather lengthy hallway.

“You have done excellently thus far, my child,” the goat lady smiled down at the child, but they still gave her no sign of acceptance nor appreciation, “however...I have a difficult request to ask of you,” you didn't like the sound of that in the least as she stepped beside you gracefully, giving you a sidelong glance, “we would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself,” _are you serious,_ she took your hand, “forgive me for this,” and she tugged you to run.

You fixed your gaze behind you to see if the child was panicking, they slowly trudged a path behind your flying feet, “we're not leaving'em right?” her running slowed to a light trot and she tugged you behind a marble column at the other end of the room, “...oh,” _this has got to be a joke._

“No my child, I just wish to test them,” you noted that the kid was probably halfway down the walkway by the time you'd hidden, “...they solved the puzzles of the ruins a lot quicker than I had anticipated, I'm sure they can do this just as easily,” the child stopped at the end of the room, she gestured for you to follow her, “greetings my child, do not worry, we didn't leave you,” you stepped beside the kid and they immediately gripped onto your hand when it was in range of their short limbs, “we were merely behind this pillar the whole time...thank you for trusting us,” you looked toward the woman, “however, there was an important reason for this exercise,” sadness seemed to color her face quite often, “...to test your independence,” a wry smile played across her lips, “but you did wonderful.”

“The kid seems to have a knack for getting things done,” you gave their hand a squeeze of affirmation as the woman turned toward the doorway.

“I'm so sorry...I have some business to attend to,” she glanced over her shoulder, “it's dangerous to explore the ruins so please be good and stay put would you?” she paused a moment before turning toward the two of you, “I have an idea,” she pulled out what looked to be a very old flip phone, “I will give you a cellphone,” she prepared to hand it to you, but you pulled yours out and gestured toward the kid, so she leaned down to them and placed it in their hands, “if you have a need for anything...just call,” watching the woman leave, you noticed the kids body visibly slouch.

You weren't planning on commenting, so you took a couple minutes to stretch and check around the room for anything interesting, “so we've got time to just do whatever I guess huh,” looking to the kid to make sure they were still upright, you noted that they just clung to you like a doll and hadn't moved an inch on their own since the earlier occupant left, “hey short stuff, you wanna look around err-”

“Toriel,” the quiet mumble that escaped their lips caused you to tilt your head in confusion. _Oh jeez are they chanting some demonic ritual, please tell me I didn't get a murderous little imp on my hands._

“What was that, you gotta- Hey!”

Your arm was jerked as they unexpectedly tore their hand from you, speeding through the door, “Hey wait up,” you immediately went to grab them, but a sudden surge of dizziness struck you in the face, “ohhh,” your vision flickered from purple floors to white snow stained red, face growing a million times more heavy, “hmm,” your stomach flipped at the fuzziness of your body's nerves – your breath hitched and caught in your throat - but everything stopped abruptly as you felt your hands slap against the cold, stone floor, “what...the hell?”

Taking a moment to catch yourself, you found that you had broken out into a cold sweat, the ill feeling quickly subsiding back to wherever it had crawled out from, “...gotta get the kid,” carefully getting yourself off the floor to avoid any possible chance of vomiting, you made your way out the room, hoping to get your mind off of whatever just happened, “they can't be far,” you spotted one of the frog-like creatures you guys had encountered while the goat woman was testing the kid, “excuse me,” quickly, you approached them and they immediately stiffened at your overbearing aura, “err sorry um,” slowing yourself down and physically easing yourself to the best of your ability, you spotted a couple of eyes down between the creatures legs, “interesting...looks adorable,” you caught sight of blush crossing the frog creatures' face as it turned away bashfully, “I-I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen a kid this tall?” gesturing your hand against your side, you prayed they understood what you meant – to your disappointment, they didn't.

“Nevermind,” glancing through the door beside the frog creature, you spotted a pillar with a bowl on top of it, “what's this?” taking a quick peek inside, you glanced inside the bowl – little round, individually wrapped candies were in it – 'take one' was labeled on the outside, “hmm, the kid'll probably like it,” taking one, you tucked it away in the pocket of your sweater uttering an inaudible 'thank you' to no one in particular and rushed back out the room.

The frog creature was still sitting in it's original spot, eyes watching you, “have a nice day,” you waved at the critter and rushed down the hall, worried about the kids current state of mind, “don't do anything stupid you little brat,” rushing through the rooms, you didn't really have time to stop and address any of the monsters until you came to a room full of crumbling floor, “are you kidding me?” of all the possible troubles, it had to be something that would most likely break your legs if you made a mistake.

Staring at the floor before you, you wanted to scream aloud, “how did they even get through here?” ready to just run like a maniac and pray you would skim over the falling ground like Jesus on water, you caught sight of a couple of stray yellow petals laying across the floor, “...hmm,” thinking about them on a logical level, you doubted that it was just a coincidence for them to just be there, “...maybe they left'em for me...nah,” but if the petals were marking the path, you couldn't think of anyone or thing down there that would do something like that, _except that goat lady._

Wondering a bit longer, you gave in and stepped over to the old decaying floor, “here goes nothing,” taking a deep breath, you put your foot down beside the petal, testing your weight with a slight hop, “oh thank goodness,” you sighed with relief as the ground held firm under your boot, “then let's get going shall we,” carefully you followed the path of scattered flower, occasionally slipping up and sending your foot through the floor, “oh crap!”

After many slips and corrections later, you were panting heavily from tension and splayed across the stable floor, “oh thank you lovely solid ground,” rubbing your cheek against the cold surface, you purred at the cool touch against your sweaty skin, “...I'm gonna strangle that kid when I find'em.”

Laying there a few more moments, you jumped up and sprinted your way to the next room. A strange nagging pulled at the back of your mind as you stared at the finished puzzle before you. For some reason, it looked vaguely familiar, _weird._ Stepping past the bridge, you shrieked as it gave way as you stepped onto the other side. You looked back to see one of the rocks had moved off one of the buttons.

“Who the he-”

“Oh I'm sorry, I forgot I'm supposed to stay there,” you jumped at the sudden sound of a voice coming from the other side of the room, your throat clenching as you noticed the rock slide back over the button, the bridge reappearing, “sorry 'bout that.”

“Uhh err,” you didn't know how to respond to such a bizarre scene, _either there's a ghost, or that's a talking rock_ , “no umm, you're alright, thanks for the help,” acknowledging it's reply, you immediately returned to sprinting right through the next room, “just some table and cheese,” making it through the next doorway, you paused at the sight of a blob laying across your path.

“Oh……..,” you listened to it moan depressively to itself as you slowly approached, “...oh…..”

“Excuse me,” immediately, it jumped and turned to look at you, “yeah, hi, I'm looking for a kid about this tall,” mimicking the gesture you made with the frog, you muttered as you concluded it probably didn't understand you either.

“Oh...I don't really know...oh,” it seemed to quiver as you continued to stare at it when you suddenly realized you were face to face with a literal ghost, one of those trademark bed sheet ghosts, but this one was in fact real, _this is insane_ , “I'm sorry for being of no help...oh...ohhh,” you could tell it was very much a shy character.

“Oh no, it's not your fault,” laughing nervously, you could see it's eyes visibly grow in size which caused you to repress a snort, “you're adorable,” a burst of red – even though you were sure it had no blood – spread across its cheeks at your remark, “ahaha, you're such a shy little thing aren't you?”

“Oh...oh thank you...though I'm sure you're just being modest,” a tiny smile crossed it's face and its eyes continued to waver, “I usually come to the ruins cause no one's usually here...I met someone nice today,” suddenly it jumped again, “oh sorry, let me get out of your way,” before you could say anything else, the ghost vanished out of thin air.

“...I swear this has ALL got to be a dream,” groaning aloud from the utter beauty of the world you were in that you couldn't stop to appreciate, you continued to trek your way through the kid's route, “a dream...a really...weird dream,” after a few more rooms filled with solved puzzles and talking frog creatures, you heard the child's footfalls within earshot on the opposite side of the room, “HEY,” rushing over, you looked through the door way of the next room, a foot vanishing around the corner, “what is your problem?”

Stomping your way over with a bone to pick, you found that the doorway before you was pitch black, ominous, “whoa...that's strange,” literally nothing was visible through the gaping wall of darkness, light just getting sucked inside and never returning, “hmmm,”you were completely positive that there was but a space of nothingness within the gaping maw, a collapsed space within reality, “...okay,” hesitantly, you reached out to test your theory, unsure of whether you were okay with even walking into it. There was no noise coming from within, no air, no feeling. A deep dark, emptiness.

_Oh geez, this is creepy? This isn't normal, this is definitely something otherworldly. Is it some kind of gateway to death? It's incredibly amazing, but I DO NOT want to step into it. It doesn't feel right._

“I have to,” resigning yourself to taking in a little bit of discomfort or possibly for all of eternity, you slowly approached the wall before you could chicken out, “hurgh,” your body tingled from head to toe as you stepped into the dark space, a split second of weightlessness and you were in the next room unscathed and breathing, “what-oh my...this is crazy! Was that a portal?” glancing back over your shoulder to check for any magic door or something, you wished you hadn't as a droopy white face vanished into the ever darkening void behind you, “...no big deal,” you felt a nervous laugh spill out of you at the sudden burst of tingles shooting through your legs while physically shrugging your shoulders, cold chills running down your spine at the unnerving image as you turned away, “I've already seen a talking goat and a ghost...a creature lurking in weird voidy things and possibly watching me or trying to lock me away into the darkness is a stroll in the park,” the sudden feeling of fingers brushing your shoulder sent you speeding like a rocket for the next room, determined to stay alive and away from whatever demonic creature that wanted you, “nope, nope, nope, that didn't happen,” your skin crawled with nervous excitement as you ran for dear life, “that was nothing, you're just jumpy, nothing touched you.”

You continued to sprint until your nerves calmed. _Just a work of the nerves, everything's fine, you're good, you're alive, you're breathing...you're good._ You were ready to completely relax when your irritation flared at the sight of the child a few yards ahead of you, “can you stop moving for just one second please?” you were running for them full force until they came to a complete halt before a giant black tree within a large spacious room full of read petals, “hey you actually listened,” stepping beside them, you gripped their shoulder, causing them to jump, gifting you an innocently surprised face – their eyes were wet, “you alright?”

                                                              

Waiting patiently, you sighed as they didn't respond to your question and just turned away, “okay no talking, let's just get going I guess,” moving around the stalky piece of life as to not disturb anything, you smiled as you heard the child's steps echoing quickly behind you as they caught hold of your hand, “….hmm,” heading toward the house, something sweet caught your nose, “smells nice,” stepping up to the doorway, you knocked on the frame since there seemed to be no door anywhere, “hello?”

A startled 'oh' came from inside and you immediately sighed with relief at the sight of the goat woman, “I thought I asked you two to stay put,” a stern motherly glare came from her, causing you both to cringe as she exhaled disappointingly, “I wished you'd listened, because I would've been able to surprise you,” a soft smile crossed her lips as you looked at her questioningly, “well, surprise! I made you some cinnamon butterscotch pie,” she looked down to the child warmly, “I wanted to make your living here as comfortable as possible,” _wait what?_

The goat woman smiled brightly at you two, _this_ _is_ _going to be more troublesome than I thought._


	4. Awkward Moments are Fun...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I was contemplating on it, so I did it. This chapter was originally the last mini baby, but I added a few thousand words to it instead of making a whole nother chapter. SOOOOO, I'm posting this anyway since I said I'd post the mini babies for you guys. Have a nice mini-extended-to-long-baby chapter. :>

The woman wanted you to stay and LIVE there? That was definitely not going to work, you had a life to go back to on the surface.

“Err uhh miss er ma'am that's very nice of you, but,” her brows furrowed as she frowned at your protesting, _just say it, tell her, before emotions get involved_ , “...nevermind, thank you,” you sighed in defeat at her warm brown eyes, _I'll bring it up when the kid isn't around_ , her motherly behavior made it a bit hard to shut her down and an argument in front of a child was out of the question – including the fact that you were rather exhausted, “do you need help with anything?” you finally stepped into the home, the wooden floor creaking under your boots.

“Oh no, you two needn't do a thing,” she gently took both your hands and led you down the hallway on the right, “let me show you to your room,” her giant paw was warm around your hand, which was all the more inviting you to keep your lips pursed tight and give up your old life, “...I hope you come to enjoy it,” before she could open the door, she jerked up in surprise, “do you smell something burning?” she jumped once again, “err, please make yourselves at home,” and she rushed away, leaving you both in front of the door.

“...This isn't good,” you sighed in exasperation while rubbing the bridge of your nose to stop an oncoming headache, there was no way that you could just stay there, _kid probably has a family to get to_ , “alright, well I'm heading in,” you opened the door to find a room with a predominantly red scheme to it, a generic child's room with stuffed animals and a variety of variously sized shoes, “...I don't like this,” you stared for a few seconds in hopes that you would ease up before actually crossing the threshold and heading for the small bed that would definitely not allow you to sprawl out, “I need to get some shut eye, you do what you want short stuff,” not wanting to cause panic or another tantrum in the kid, you dropped the issue before it was even able to be brought up.

Plopping down on the bed you stretched out as far as the small frame would allow while kicking off your boots, “man this is soft,” curling into the blankets, you sighed pointedly, “...you're gonna have to move eventually,” peeking over to the door you chuckled as the kid jumped at your words, stepping into the room their self, “what, you feeling tired too?” you slid over to give them room to sit on the edge, their face still downcast – anymore drooping and you were positive their face would fall right off, “I thought you didn't like humans,” you saw their face physically twist in pain, “joking short stuff, just-”

“I'm sorry,” you spotted their lip bitten hard between their teeth, “...”

You quietly watched them in order to figure out how to deal with their sudden mood change, not really caring for what was going on as they still didn't want your attention yet, so you threw the pillow at their face, catching a surprised pout, “go take a walk...you obviously need some air...you didn't do anything wrong,” turning away from them, you stared at the wall, waiting for them to leave – you honestly wouldn't be able to deal with whatever emotional troubles they were going through at that moment even if they asked you to. You were just tired. You truly just wanted to sleep and wake up back in your own bed, no matter how excitingly amazing the discovery you made was. Maybe if your line hadn't snapped, you would've been fine _..._ _but it did and now you've gotta get this child out of this place...how the hell are you gonna do that?_

A few moments past in silence before you could hear the child's footsteps heading for the door, you sighed a breath that you didn't know you were holding. You weren't going to deal with any emotional baggage they wanted to throw on you if they refused to let you in – it would just make things more complicated for the both of you. Quietly, you sat up, groaning in frustration, _no time to rest, gotta talk to this lady._ Looking at your toes wriggle against the wooden floor, you mumbled before getting up and heading for the door.

“Oh hello child,” peeking around the corner of the door frame you could see the kid with the goat woman, “is there something that you ne-oh,” _wait what?...are they,_ taking a couple blinks, you found yourself smiling fairly hard, _cute._ The child desperately clung to the woman's legs, face buried in her purple gown.

Without any words, she gently took the child into a hug herself before taking their hand and heading for the kitchen, “well, there goes my plan,” turning back around, you felt the happenings of the day finally kicking in, so you carelessly plopped down on the bed and shut your eyes, “I'll just deal with it tomorrow.”

 

* * *

 

_**“** **You're new,”** you see, feel, and smell nothing – you are nothing, “ **and what brings you down here?** ” cold boney digits scrape against your cheek, slowly and carefully trailing their way down to the softness of your neck, “ **you seem...familiar,** ” the smooth fingers slowly run circles along your windpipe absentmindedly for a brief moment before clasping it tightly, cutting off your oxygen as they dug into your neck as though trying to rip you open, “... **I'll have to study you** **,** ” the hand releases you, allowing oxygen to fill your lungs once again before it slowly treks its way to your chest, “ **you...I'm sure you can help me,** ” there's an uncomfortable tug at your sternum-_

* * *

 

“My child,” the feeling of something gripping at your shoulders drew you out of the trance-like slumber in which you were trapped, panicked breathes accompanying you along the way, “are you alright dear?” it took a couple seconds for your senses to align with you properly, limbs slowly gaining coordination to push you up, “you're burning up, are you feeling alright?”

Taking a couple seconds to let your vision clear up, you tilted your head toward the lilting voice, “I...I uhh, I'm fine,” your skin had broken out into a cold sweat during your slumber, your suit sticking to you uncomfortably, “I'm okay really,” wanting the large hands to stop touching you, you gently pulled them away from your body, “I just had a bad dream...I think,” you weren't terribly positive what had occurred during your slumber, just that it felt indescribably real.

“Hmmm,” finally able to recognize the figure sitting beside you, you watched the goat woman's brows slowly furrow into a 'v' as she continued to stare at your rather disheveled manner, “are you sure my child? I don't wish for you to fall ill without my knowing.”

“Oh trust me,” an exhausted chuckle dripped from your roughed up throat as you went to rub your eyes, allowing the tingles of sleep to slowly wash over you, “I haven't gotten sick in years,” mustering a smile to better reassure the woman, you looked around her as your train of thought started working properly, “where's the kid?”

“They're waiting for you to wake,” her shoulders visibly relaxed at your query, you kicked your legs out of bed, “I wish for you to accompany me to the deeper ruins,” quirking at her sudden request for your presence, you rose a brow in question, “I must stock up with more supplies, I may need help with carrying things,” you couldn't help noticing the way her eyes avoided your gaze or just rested upon your lips or forehead, your presence clearly bothering her in some way.

“Of course, it's the least I could do for your hospitality,” you nodded obligingly to her request, it would get you alone to discuss with her the issue of staying under her wing, “just give me a second to get ready?”

“Of course my dear,” you flinched from her abrupt movement as she stood to leave, “I shall wait by the front,” you nodded to her fleeting frame before sighing and plopping down on your side, taking time to ease the quiet static in your ears from the rude awakening.

“So then I can stop this whole charade before it gets out of hand,” looking around the room a couple more times, you felt chills run down your spine just from the sight of children's shoes stuffed in the sizable box in the corner, “...way out of hand,” pushing yourself up to get ready, you gave a hearty stretch before stuffing your feet back in your boots.

Getting up and heading for the door, you heard the unmistakable sound of little feet patting along the floor down the hall. Leaning out of the doorway to acknowledge the causer of said sound, you smiled at the sight of the child moving along the room with bare feet in tow of the goat woman who was scolding them for being so fidgety. Watching the scene unfold for your own satisfaction, you decided it best to address the kid before anything got too messy. Making a couple of loud stomps to catch their attention, you pretended to not have heard the bickering and strolled your way toward the child.

“Hey kid, feeling better?” you eyed their stiffened pose as you approached them, sure they were very much not willing to display their relief of seeing you awake, “still no talking huh?” looking to their step guardian for any answers, you sighed at the shaking of her head to your unspoken question, “well, I'm all ears if you ever decide to,” adjusting your sleeves to better allow your skin to breathe, you kept your distance from them as you got down to business and addressed them, “I gotta help our new friend with some shopping, and I'm gonna need you to stay here,” you waited for some form of acknowledgment to your words before continuing, “think you can hold down the fort while we're gone?”

Willing to take the child along with you if needed, you prepared to stand and look for their boots when you felt a small pair of hands clasp onto your arm, “just...hurry back,” their skin was beginning to heat up against your sleeve, their face starting to flush as well as they turned their gaze to you – the irises were shifting to a deep plum red, “I mean it,” they looked weary, as though they were fighting something back.

Glad that they were willing to drop a few words, you hoped it wasn't because they were scared of you not coming back and were letting you know they were planning on doing something stupid if you didn't, “we'll be back before you know it,” glancing over to the goat woman who had gone over to the front door, you leaned in close to your kid to whisper, “do a bit of sight seeing while we're gone, you might find something nifty,” pulling back from their tiny frame, you stood while ruffling their hair, “just hang tight for a bit.”

“Please be good my child,” you heard the woman gently cooing the kid as you stepped out of the house and over toward the large black tree in the grand hall, “as your guardian has said, we will be back quickly,” you kept your gaze on the stone path that led out of the hall while you listened to the pads of her feet approach you, “I have no desire of keeping you away long, so let's be going,” turning your body a fraction towards the woman as you walked, you wondered about the sorrowful gaze that she had fixed upon her face.

“Of course,” you weren't sure if she was keeping with your pace or if you were walking fast, but she kept in stride with you as you walked, “so what all do you need to get?” she had her paws clasped tight around each other as she strode gracefully down the path, she was restraining herself from something.

“Many things child,” although you knew you were definitely not a toddler of any sort, you were able to recognize the millennium old levels of weight and wisdom laced in her words whenever she spoke – you were most definitely a child in her eyes, “I hope we are supplied with everything necessary.”

When her muzzle zipped shut, you decided it was apparently the end of the conversation and turned your eyes to the stone walkway. You hadn't the slightest clue on how to speak to the woman – although she was stern and motherly, she still looked to be built of the most delicate glass ever created. You couldn't pinpoint where her evasive behavior came from, although you had a very minute sense of what it could've been, you wanted to be positively sure before you started assuming things. She was all but kind to you after all.

“Please watch your step,” pulling your eyes from the ground to address the goat ladys' request, you felt all the air that was planning to come out verbally just accumulate even more within your lungs as superfluous gasps.

Before you, stood a treasure trove of magnanimously crafted ancient buildings that would've caused any architect to get a little hot in the pants. Intricately carved earth could be seen for miles onward, a cultivation of beautiful yet once glorious stone. You couldn't process the words that you wanted so desperately to express out of sheer awe, however, once your eyes were upon the woman beside you, your excitement only bubbled up into your throat even more. She directed you to a stair case leading down toward what looked to have been a luxurious court yard once – although everything was magnificent and pristine, there was clear evidence that arachnid creatures had moved in, leaving behind dust and webs that lie deathly still as you passed by.

“This is beautiful,” your heart fluttered at the intricacies of the stone columns that you weaved around as you departed the open front gates, eyes roaming every tiny little etch of detail breathed into the crafty work, “so many years, wearing away and absolutely stunning.”

“My child,” you hadn't realized you'd stopped in your distracted steps until your fellow guardian called for your attention, she was already out of the gates and standing along a large street path leading down to the heavier abundance of buildings that towered overhead, “try not to dawdle too long,” you wanted to examine the landscape longer than the few minutes that you were granted, but you had to get back soon.

“Right right, sorry,” you trailed your way over to the woman without hesitation, pausing when you felt the large warm pads of her paw gently clasp at your hand, “umm,” the motherly gesture was definitely not something you were going to get used to anytime soon, you wanted to pull away, not out of disgust, but due to the fact that you were acknowledging the signs of a mother's wing trying to pull you in. It was a pleasant gesture, but you didn't want to fall into her protective clutches.

“Apologies,” she must've sensed your tension, because she immediately released your hand to clasp onto her own, leaving behind a cold air to brush at your fingertips, “it's my natural instincts dear,” she held her head up with elegance, eyes fixed forward and locked away from you, “let's hurry,” her steps slowly quickened to a pace that you thought to have been a bit evasive, but you did your best to follow suit.

“How deep are we going anyway?” you allowed your eyes the liberty of consuming the architectural candy that encroached your vision, goosebumps riding your skin from your head to your toes, “because I'm not sure if I'm not gonna get lost gawking at everything.”

“We shall start here,” she came to an abrupt stop by a rather small building that had light streaming through the broken glass of the door, she immediately turned to you with one of the leather totes she had been carrying around her shoulder, “see if you can find anyone to help with this list,” she conjured a small piece of parchment with strange letters scribbled on them, there were quite a few items written on them and you were positive you had no clue what you were staring at, “I will see to what I can scavenge around the center,” she graced you with her usual warm smile, but you could plainly see through her large brown eyes.

“I still want to talk to you,” you were growing tired of the tiptoeing about on the certain subject you wanted answers to, so you decided to state yourself bluntly, “what are you hiding from me?” her posture went frigid for mere seconds before she straightened herself up and turned on a heel.

“Nothing important child, now please hurry so we can get back to the little one,” you wanted to say more, but she was fleeing the scene faster than any adult you'd ever met. _She knows an exit...there's got to be_ _an exit somewhere_ _._

Seeing as to how you had no more chances of addressing the elephant in the room, you brushed the situation off and took a deep breathe while you looked through the broken window of the door, “time to go shopping,” gently pushing on the door as to not disturb anyone that could've possibly been in there, you stepped into the candlelit building, “hell-Oooo,” your eyes gleamed at the large hooks hanging on the ceiling that held stocks of what you assumed were a variety of vegetables, fruits and interesting looking herbs and spices – they looked otherworldly to put it bluntly, something that would've been found in a child's book or something close to that.

The scents from all of the edibles were light, yet rich as they pierced your nostrils with their delightful aromas, “excuse me?” looking around for anyone that could help you with the list of items, you ducked and maneuvered your way around the delicate looking vines of the foods, “is anybody here?” the light of the candle up ahead wavered when a light thump echoed from the counter, “hell—uhh,” your words trailed. Before you floated a pair of black hands with thumbs and fingers steepled together in the shape of a heart – within the shape, floated one eldritch eye.

                                                   

Unable to find the proper words for the grave looking creature, you shook your head of the uncertainty that gripped at your shoulders and lifted your piece of parchment, “are you the owner? I was sent to get a few items for someone, I'm not sure if you could help me or,” your heart leaped into your throat as a sign to run away when the hands gently floated toward you, eye trained on your piece of paper, “holy shh - uhhh,” the feeling of its presence was that of a thousand years left in a sarcophagus buried deep within the earth, “I need a lot of things so-”

The eye shot up to your cautious face, ghostly pupil examining your features. You weren't sure of whether it was going to get rough with you until the eye disappeared as the hands separated, floating about the room and orbiting the different ingredients hanging about the ceiling. Allowing your heart the time to calm down, you hadn't noticed the smaller creatures that were quietly moving around the room and bundling different items. They looked tired, exhausted yet hopeful. You identified some of them as creatures you'd seen while heading through the ruins, some were beyond anything you'd met yet. They were headed back and forth through a broken part of a wall in the back, small pouches or baskets hooked around some of their bodies. Distracted by the sad scene, you jumped out of shock when one of the large hands gently nudged your arm.

“Huh?” the hand was gripping onto a bundle of what looked similar to cinnamon sticks, “oh sorry,” you immediately pulled the tote from your shoulder and opened it up to allow the hand to slip the bundle inside, “thank you so much,” you jerked back when the other hand came up with more ingredients, slipping them into the bag before you were able to slip it back on your shoulder, “thanks,” you honestly didn't have a clue if the hands even understood the words you were saying or if they were even able to hear you, but you decided to be on the safe side and voice your gratitude.

Stepping back to give the hands less obstacles to maneuver around, you settled yourself against the counter and set your bag down. The hands were swift, plucking ingredients left and right from baskets and shriveling vines, setting them gently into your bag while you held the parchment toward them to make quick marks of what was received already. When the list slowly dwindled to a few unchecked items, the hands finally started slowing down, pacing a bit to make quick checks around the room for anything that could've been missed. When they both returned behind the counter you set the bag back over your shoulder and waited.

“Is there anything else?” you watched them pull out a small bottle along with a couple of leafy items, liquids and a mortar bowl, “...” curious as to what was being made, you cautiously eyed the ingredients grinding under the pestle – none of it was recognizable, “what are you making?” the hands poured the mix into the tiny bottle before setting everything away, “is it some sort of sauce err oil?” you stared at the muddy green mixture in the bottle until the hands snatched it up, a purple ghostly glow much like the creature's missing eye forming around the small object, “whoa,” when the light died down the bottle was no longer a muddy green, but a bright bubbly amber – the figure gently placed the bottle in your hands, “err...thank you, uhh how much-uhhh,” the hands had already turned away from you and were headed through the broken wall to assist some of its brethren, “...okay.”

Stepping out of the quiet building while carefully tucking the bottle away, you took a peek around the once seemingly abandoned town. Your heart sped up at the sight of a handful of eyes peeking out at you through alleyways, broken windows and unhinged doors, _when did those get there?_ Some creatures were floating along, not even batting an eye in your direction, others seemed to slightly wave at you from across the way. You decided to head back for the gates, away from the dark mood. Unfortunately, your route was cut off by a fairly sized ball-like cyclops staring you down. Unsure of whether to turn the other way or speak, you tried rationalizing your predicament. _The critters I met in the shop were cool, this guy should be cool too._

“Uhh hi there,” you sported a soft smile and lightly waved in there direction, showing as much of a friendly vibe as you possibly could, “how are yo-umm,” your throat clenched at the dilation of the creatures pupil, a predatory gaze that meant only one thing – you were an enemy, “listen I don't want to cause any tro-urgh,” your body grew numb the moment the critter took a step towards you, an uncomfortable fuzziness biting at the flesh beneath your skin, “oh god,” you kept your eyes trained on the advancing imp as a powerful tug erupted through your chest, it felt like your whole being was getting sucked right into the center of your body.

Trying to keep yourself under control in the creatures presence, you stood your ground while preparing your fists, “I'll fight you if I have to,” spreading your legs out, you felt your breathing growing heavy as the tugging wouldn't stop, the very heat of your breath entering the energy forming in your sternum, “I don't want to hurt you-”

“And you won't have to,” the familiar voice that interrupted your focus actually filled you with relief as the strange tugging sensation suddenly stopped when the cyclops backed up with a stupefied frown plastered to its face, “begone miserable creature,” turning to acknowledge the goat woman who had a rather irritable glare fixed to her face, you rubbed at your chest as the buzzing energy distributed itself back through your limbs, “are you alright dear?” the moment the imp was out of sight, she had her eyes glued to you worriedly.

“Yeah I'm okay, just a little jittery,” remembering why you both had been down there to begin with, you pulled out the piece of parchment that she had left with you, “I don't think they had everything, but I got most of what was on the list,” she took the paper out of your comparably small hand and examined what was left to find.

“Hmmm,” her brows furrowed slightly while her eyes scanned the list, “well we have the most important supplies, so we'll make do without,” she tucked it away into her own bag while headed back for the gates, “this took longer than I had hoped,” the visible frown on her face made it obvious where that worry was directed to, “let's hurry.”

“Right,” you were still frazzled by the strange feeling in your chest, so you followed without complaint, “they're probably worrying their butt off.”

The closer you got to the gates, the less monsters there were to find. They must've situated themselves deep in the abandoned city because everything had fallen silent once you passed the gates and entered the court yard. Upon entering, you got a clear view of the large building in which the yard belonged to – it was a grand castle.

“Oh wow,” stopping in your tracks to take in as much scenery as possible, you examined the towering curtain walls that you had clearly missed when you first exited, “it's incredible,” the entire creation was perfectly intact, “I wonder who the-” it hit you. Raising a suspicious brow toward the woman beside you, you felt the question bubble out faster than your mind could process.

“Are you a queen?” the question seemed to have an ill effect, a deep and sorrowful frown carving her lips in an instant. _Shit._

“...I was,” those words weighed heavily with pain and some sort of malice, but there was no explanation leading onward, just a heavy silence, “let's be off,” unsure of how to soak in the soured mood, you silently followed her steps.

When you were up the stairs and back in the speaker's balcony, you noticed the woman's feet falter behind you. Turning to speak, you pursed your lips when she held a paw up to you.

“Go on ahead dear, I'll be with you shortly,” for the first time, her eyes were locked onto you and all you were able to see was total misery – thousands of years of insatiable grief.

“...Sure thing,” curious but not wanting to know at the same time, you hesitantly made your way for the corridor, “take your time,” you felt a pang of regret grip at your heart for asking the question, but you chose to not dwell on it, you couldn't have known how she was going to react. Hell, you didn't even know she was _actually_ a queen. You were usually great at reading people, but you had forgotten the fact that she was still very much 'human' and she had just as much feelings as you did. _This situation just got ten times worse,_ _our relationship has definitely taken a nosedive now_ _._

When the barren black tree came into sight, your damaged mood was revitalized once again. Welcoming the warmth of the home, you knocked to let anyone know that you were coming in. Carrying the bag into the dining room with care, you set it down on the table before taking a deep breath to ease your working mind. Dropping down into one of the chairs, you held your head to cool off and let whatever negative energy that was clinging to you wash away. _This is gonna be tough, she's freakin' grieving, even more incentive to get this kid out of here,_ _they can't be a knew fixation for her_ _._ Remembering yourself, you made a quick sweep of the room to make sure you hadn't missed them. The house was silent.

“Short stuff?” getting up to go look for the little squirt, you carefully wrapped your thin sweater around yourself, “hey kid, you there?” making your way toward the bedroom, you spotted a small pair of boots sitting just outside the door, “hmm,” picking them up while stepping into the room, you found the child curled up on the bed in a fetal position – their face was smothered into the pillow, “I take it exploring got you sleepy?” you were surprised when they quickly shot up to look at you, eyes wide with shock, “uhh surprise?” unsure of what to make of their behavior you quirked when their short legs launched them across the room and around your waist, “whoa, are you sure you're okay?”

“What took you so long!?” they shouted into your ribs with possible psuedo anger, you watched them pull away from you and cross their arms, lip sticking out angrily, “you said quickly,” unable to not grin at their bratty little attitude or how much dialogue they were spilling, you found yourself chuckling against your will.

“Right kid,” you gently ran your nails through their hair, the scraping of their scalp sending their shoulders up in tension, “I'm here now okay? Besides, I'm not leaving unless you say so,” waiting for their pout to at least soften, you smiled gently once they turned away with a blushing face, “you think you could help the lady once she gets back?” their eyes locked onto you with the obvious question upon their lips, words no longer up for exchanging, “she needed some air, she'll be back soon though and she's got a lot of groceries,” stretching your limbs, you felt a powerful yawn drawl your words, “that nap wasn't enough for me, I'm still pretty tired,” leaning against the door frame, you awaited an approval for your request, “y'know, you could even help her cook if you wanted to...it'd probably make her really happy,” you spotted the little spark in their eye when you mentioned the probable outcome of the gesture, positive that they definitely liked the goat woman to some extent, “you're choice though, if you don't want to,” you plopped down on the bed while slipping off your boots, exhaustion kicking your butt as you pressed your face against the pillow, “just let me know.”

Waiting for a response of some sort, you chuckled when their little feet patted out of the room without a moment's hesitation when that familiar singsong voice echoed trough the halls, “oh hello child, would you like to see what we've got today?” you listened to their steps head for the kitchen until there was silence save for the goat lady's soft voice.

Snuggling yourself deeper into the blankets, you allowed yourself the freedom of sleep. Everything could be taken care of later, when everyone has calmed and moods are better than sour. For now, you just needed to sleep. _I'll talk to her when I wake up, no matter how much heartbreak it'll cause...we're leaving._ Shutting your eyes, you listened to the white noise of the world until you drifted off.

* * *

 

 _“_ _You're being a little dramatic right now _____,” your_ _father tries to pat your head, but you easily dodge his distracted hand._

 _“It's true! She doesn't l_ _ike_ _me!” your brows furrow with anger at your parent, his nonchalant attitude toward you riling you up even more, “I want to go back! This isn't fair!”_

 _“Calm down alright sweetie,” he set the notes he was looking at aside, turning his attention back to his large leather back journal –_ _he's so different from what he used to be_ _, “you just need to give her some time.”_

 _“You're not even listening!” you bawl your tiny hands into fists, shaking out of pure rage, “_ _you don't even care! I bet you didn't even know I ran away!”_

 _“I am sweetheart, I_ _do care_ _,” his pen scribbles note after note into the journal, eyes scanning over papers scattered across his desk, “hey, it's a nice night out_ _and daddy's on the brink_ _of_ _figuring something amazing out_ _…_ _we can talk about this later,_ _why don't you go to the roof and-”_

 _“NO!”_ _the dam holding you back finally breaks_ _, “_ _I hate this!”_ _you kick a pile of filled out journals,_ _showering the room in white paper._

_“You need to calm down right now ______!” your father's gaze finally locks onto you for once, his towering form sliding away from the desk and hovering over to you – his hand grips onto your arm._

_“Let me go!” you_ _tear away at his hand_ _that's dragging you along, “_ _I_ _hate this stupid house!” you're somehow able to slip out of his grip, running back to the room to toss more journals and papers around, “I hate your stupid research!” grabbing his large leather back journal to further prove your point, you throw it square at his face – he unfortunately ca_ _tches_ _it, “I HATE YOU!”_

 _You feel the sting of a powerful slap against your face, your eyes welling up with tears against your will._ _The unbearable pain of betrayal gripping at your chest, you glare at him with total fury – his eyes are wide with regret. You know you're misbehaving, but you can't bare anymore of being left alone and ignored in the cruel home - you're tired of not having the secure feeling of being loved. You miss having a family. You miss having parents…but if you can't have_ _that_ _, then everyone can burn in hell._

_“I wish you were dead instead of mom.”_

* * *

 

Your body jolts awake – it was dark, “mmm,” groaning quietly as you turned onto your other side to get comfortable, it took you a moment to remember where you were, _goat lady_ _'s house_ _, “_ ugh goodness,” opening your eyes once again, you felt your throat clog at the sight of bright red eyes glaring at you, a sadistic smile plastered beneath them with a knife glinting ever so slightly, “uhhh short stuff?”

Taking a moment to blink away your tiredness, you realized your mind was playing tricks on you as the kid was standing beside the bed with almost pouty lips, _knife still there...no creepy face._ Waiting for a response as to why they were carrying a weapon or the fact of how long they were standing there watching you, you sat up when they offered the little knife to you.

“Err, what exactly-”

“Please take it,” wondering what game they were trying to play with you, you felt a pang of déjà vu as you looked down to the knife – a queasiness filled your stomach, “I don't trust myself,” suspicious of the kid, you could see them shaking in the dark, “p-please...”

With the situation at hand, you honestly couldn't figure out what their deal was anymore, _might as well play it safe_ , “alright,” you tiredly took the knife from their tiny hands - it was thankfully made of plastic - and placed it on the other side of the bed frame before pulling the blanket back and offering a spot, “c'mere,” you watched them hesitate for a moment, but you were tired and had no room for patience, “I'm not gonna offer this again,” they quietly obliged to your threat and crawled in the bed beside you, the scent of cinnamon filling your nose, “you eat something?”

The question seemed to shock them and they went silent for a moment, “Toriel gave me some of the pie,” _so that's her name,_ you smiled at the fact that they were getting comfortable with each other, “it was...delicious,” they choked on the word, so you could only imagine they were trying to not cry, “just like...”

“What was that?” you had zoned out for a second, trying to think of what you were gonna do with the child and how you were going to have to convince them that you would visit the lady again once you got them out of there – they simply remained silent, “alright...well go to sleep then,” fixing to turn, you felt their small hand grip at your sleeve, “hmm? What is it?” you could feel the tension in them, like a coil ready to snap at any moment.

“I'm sorry,” looking down, you felt their little frame beginning to shake again, “...sorry.”

“C'mon,” sighing softly, you wrapped your arm around them to stop an onslaught of tears they might have ready to spill, “you didn't do anything wrong,” their grip tightened and you simply stared at the wall over their head, “now let's go to sleep,” you couldn't understand why they wouldn't stop apologizing, but you were too tired to try and figure it out. _Just_ _sleep_ _._

With the child in your arms, you found yourself falling quickly back to the silent world.

* * *

 

_Blood, blood everywhere. Gaping at your crimson stained hands, you collapsed into the small puddle before you. Laughter rippled through your ears as you desperately gr_ _as_ _ped at the torn flesh of your stomach. God it hurt, but you couldn't die, not yet. You had to help him, he had no one, you couldn't leave him, not like that-_

_“Silly silly ______,” the squeaky laughter bit at your ears as you found yourself collapsing, your body shutting down, “times up..._ _**be killing you again** _ _~”_

* * *

 

Cold air brushed your skin as you groaned to life, your body stretching habitually against the bed frame, “that was a nice little sleep,” you realized the kid was no longer sleeping beside you, a crumpled sheet where they once occupied, “wonder where they went,” sitting up to allow the rest of the tingles of sleep to leave your body, you decided to talk to Toriel first before getting the kid, “hopefully she's up,” you took the toy knife from the frame.

Slipping on your boots, you got up and made the bed, noting to thank the woman for her hospitality before addressing the issue of staying there. A buzzing in your sweater pocket caused you to jump. Someone was contacting you.

“Is there seriously service down here?” pulling out your phone a bit surprised, you remembered the woman giving the kid a phone, hmm...interesting,” you noted the full bars at the top before swiping the screen, “who's bugging me anyway?”

Peeking at the message, you raised a brow, ' _knock knock,' is this some kind of prank,_ it was an unknown contact. Thinking of whether you should even bother responding, you sighed, _I'll entertain it._

You quickly texted a _'who's there?'_ before slipping the device back into your pocket, heading for the kitchen, “hello? Anybody here?” you raised your voice in hopes someone would respond, but there was nothing, “hmm,” you checked the front in case someone had gone outside, “nobody seems pres-ugh,” your phone buzzed once again and you snatched it out.

' _tibia,_ ' you wondered what was coming, but you didn't have time, ' _tibia who?_ ' you pocketed your phone as a crackling noise caught your ear, “hmmm,” looking to the stairs, you noticed the chain that once blocked it was now resting against the railing, “why are you unlocked?”

Heading down the steps, you felt heat flow up into your face as the stairs creaked beneath your weight. The path ahead was rather dark, so you kept your hand against the stone wall while scuffling forward. Listening for anything else, you could hear faint whines and hiccups, _sounds like the kid._ Picking up the pace, you prayed they didn't do something stupid and got them self hurt while you were asleep.

“Please...don't come back,” you could hear Toriel's soft voice in the distance, “promise me you won't,” turning the corner of the hallway, you could see the kid clutching the woman like she was a lifeline.

Silently watching the melancholic scene, you noticed a giant stone door behind the two, _an exit._ Shifting a little, you hit your knuckle against the wall to make sure they knew you were there. They still didn't move for a few more moments. Smiling, you waited until Toriel stood and gestured for you to come over.

“I was looking for you,” trying to keep the mood light, you watched the kid cling to the woman for as long as possible, “I take it this is our exit,” you glanced up to the tall woman and her frown deepened, “we'll be fine Toriel,” you noticed her blink as you spoke her name, “thank you for the kind offer, but we need to get going.”

To your surprise, she tugged you into a tight hug, her motherly warmth encasing your body, “please...take care of each other,” you gently hugged her back and laughed softly.

“Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to'em,” pulling back, you felt the kids hand clasp onto yours as you glanced over to the door, “I'll make sure of it.”

“Here my dear,” she took your hand into her paw, setting the familiar amber-filled bottle in your palm, “medicine for fevers,” you stared at her a little confused by the offer, but you accepted it kindly.

“Thank you, I'll keep it close,” you smiled while tucking it into your sweater pocket.

Without anymore words to exchange, she turned to push the grandiose door open, you felt icy cold air blast you in the face, particles of...snow littered the floor, _this is getting interesting, “_ you,” you frowned as the woman no longer looked to you, her eyes downcast behind the door as if the departure were truly permanent, “...take care,” taking a deep breath, you took the child and stepped out of the ruins, the giant stone door slowly shutting behind you.

Looking around, you found yourself flabbergasted at the sight of giant bare trees lining the pathway, “oh wow,” you smiled in childish excitement, the beautiful white world around you beyond scientific possibilities, “a forest underground...it's like a fairy tale,” glancing down to the kid, you realized they weren't as amazed as you, _they probably don't get it._

“C'mon,” you gently led them forward as they clearly weren't in the brightest of moods at the moment, “let's get a move on.”

Your boots crunched against the snow, the cold air biting into your skin as you traversed the lengthy pathway. Thankfully it wasn't terribly too piled up as you didn't want the kid tripping too much. Biting the inside of your cheek, you glanced down to make sure they were okay. Their face was tucked into the neck of their collar. Wondering if they could use your sweater, you prepared to remove the thin fabric when your eyes caught sight of a strange contraption in the distance, _what the heck is-_

Something snapped behind you and you quickly jerked around to see what it was, but there was nothing. You held your threatening gaze to make sure nothing dared approach you until you felt the kids hand practically squeezing the life out of yours, so you got down to their level.

“You okay?” checking them up and down to ensure they weren't hurt, you noticed their sudden trembling that wracked their whole body, “alright c'mon,” gathering them up into your arms, you rested their legs on either side of you while they wrapped their arms around your neck, face buried in your shoulder – there was no arguing, “I've got you,” you immediately picked up your pace, heading for the strange setup in the distance, “you're gonna be fine.”

Carefully, you kept your strides wide so you wouldn't fall over or something. Never looking back, you kept your eyes on the ground, making sure there was nothing that would snag and to keep yourself focused, “everything's good, you're okay, nobody's gonna hurt y-” your throat clogged as a wave of dizziness struck you.

Glancing around, your vision flickered in and out, the sudden feeling of something sharp piercing your torso, sending fire through your body. Your gut was practically screaming mercy, forcing your knees to collide with the ground. The faint sound of someone calling you in the distance couldn't bring you back. Your ears began to ring as you broke out into a cold sweat, your limbs going numb. Everything went silent. Hands gripped your face and your eyes landed on the kid who desperately shouted something at you, but you were ready to topple over. Your body was growing heavy, your vision blotching to black.

 _**“...** _ _**be killing you again.”** _

_..._

“...I'm sorry,” a soft voice called out, the world around you was slowly coming back, “I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,” trying to focus your attention as best as your imbalanced state would allow, you felt the kid wrapped around your neck in a tight embrace, like you would die right in front of them if they let you go, “please...I'm sorry,” they were damned near choking you with how fiercely they held onto you.

Moving your head, you took a deep breath to try and shake away the strange spell, “...you need to chill,” their eyes locked onto you and you smiled softly, “you didn't do anything wrong,” carefully, you pulled them back onto you while standing up, “I just felt a little sick, let's keep moving alright?” as if on cue, you heard another snap behind you, so you kicked your feet up into a light jog, “I've gotta get you taken care of first.”

The contraption ahead was coming into view and you noticed a bridge, “what's with the bars?” you wondered while slowing your pace so you wouldn't accidentally slip off the ledge, “alright short stuff just-”

Your legs seemed to stop working at the sudden sound of feet crunching in the snow a couple feet away – a heavy presence lingered closer by the second, “don't you know how to greet a new pal?” you could feel the child's arms tightening around you as the deep sultry voice echoed through the air, face burrowing as deep into your shoulder as possible. They trembled.

The footsteps grew louder until you could feel their being right on your back, “turn around and shake my hand,” a chill ran up your spine demanding you to just run, but you obliged to the voice's request.

Slowly, you turned on your heel, a blue jacket coming into view, along with a large gloved hand where a whoopee cushion sat snug on the white surface. For a moment you were confused, but your confusion subsided as the hand fluttered as if beckoning you to grab hold of it. _This has got to be some kind of joke._ There wasn't really a point in refusing, so you took hold of the large hand and squeezed, allowing the cushion in between you and the mitten to spurt loudly, _yeah, this is a joke._

As the cushion continued to deflate loudly, you took a chance in looking at your rather odd assailant when your eyes widened in total surprise. Two giant empty eye sockets stared back at you, little white pinpricks for pupils gazing intently at your clasped hands. As the whoopee cushion fell silent, you felt the mitten pull away and a sudden deep laughter reverberated from the...stranger.

“hehe...the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick,” they tucked their hand back into their pocket as you returned your hand around the child in your arms, “it's ALWAYS funny,” they sighed before drifting their eyes towards you, “anyway, you guys are humans right?” you didn't know whether to nod or speak up, but they averted their eyes as if speaking to them self, “that's hilarious.”

A silence fell between you as you continued to watch them look off into the trees. Another sigh left their...lungs, “i'm Sans,” you couldn't pull your eyes away from the permanent smile that was plastered on their...skull, “...Sans the skeleton.”

                                                    


	5. Puzzles Are Fun...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! The next chapter! I said I wasn't going to post until I had more chapters written...but I've got sad news. I've been sort of down in the dumps for a while now and I haven't touched much of anything lately, I haven't even finished some comics that I wanted to a while ago. I've just avoided everything for a while now and it sucks. So I'm posting this chapter as a proper apology for having not written a single word for more chapters. I'll try and get back in the groove, but I can't promise anything right now. I'm just trying to get back in the right mindset as of this moment. Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you guys for the kudos and comments, they really mean a lot! <3
> 
> This chapter is pretty VG linear.

_What am I suppose_ _d_ _to say?_ You couldn't muster up any words to address the skeleton before you, just gawked and stared like you were choking on a piece of food. There was literally no explanation as to what was going on, just that everything was just a wild dream and you were still waiting to wake up from it. You couldn't comprehend it, a skeleton, a living, possibly breathing, skeleton.

“i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now,” the sudden remark made you jump and you glared defensively at the large fellow before you, no longer feeling all too amazed, “but...y'know, I don't really care about capturing anybody.”

“What do you mean?” you kept your eyes leveled, wanting to make sure the skeleton knew you were being dead serious, “cause I don't have time for games,” it was true, your destination was the surface, and you hadn't the need for detours.

“now my brother, Papyrus,” they seemed to ignore your question and blinked a couple times before smiling a little wider, “he's a human-hunting FANATIC,” your heart leaped into your throat as you clutched tighter around the child in your hands, your gaze turning to them for a moment in worry, _I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you..._ _I promised_ _._

Glancing back up, you caught sight of a very irritated...skull, but they recovered much faster than you could acknowledge it, “hey, actually,” their eyes looked passed you, and the lazy smile widened, “I think that's him over there,” _so they're dudes,_ you quickly jerked back as his arm came to point passed you for a moment, but before you could fully look back, you felt a hand gently hover over your lower back, “I have an idea,” you heard a little snicker coming from him, “go through this gate thingy,” you glanced back at him a little confused before he looked at you with a raised brow bone at why you weren't moving, “yeah, go right through,” so you did and he carefully nudged you to move a little faster, “my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.”

Trying to figure out what the skeleton was getting at, you shot to get his attention, but every time he looked down to you, you honestly didn't know what to say, as if he were telling you to just stay calm and play along, “quick,” his eyes slid to the child in your arms, “kiddo get behind that conveniently-shaped lamp,” you noticed a...lamp that had slipped your eyes sitting a couple feet away, “he's coming.”

Getting down to your knees, you set the kid down before looking into their face, “just for a bit alright?” you could tell they were not happy at all, but you didn't want them to get hurt, so you gently nudged them to go, “it'll be fine short stuff,” you watched them get into position and nod to you before you felt a large hand clasp onto your shoulder a bit heavily.

“c'mere,” you were gently tugged by the arm to get up, causing you to trip a little as you did your best to balance while standing, “whoops,” you felt a hand grip at your hip to keep you from toppling over, “sorry buddy, too late,” the skeleton stepped in front of you, adjusting himself so no part of you would be seen, “just keep still,” before you could protest, you were silenced by footsteps rushing to where you were, “sup, bro?”

“YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP' BROTHER!” you could hear the shuffling of boots, so you dared to take a peek, but the skeleton before you made a quick nudge to keep you still, “IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!” you didn't know whether to laugh at the nagging, or to freak out about your apparent hunter standing a couple yards away from you, “YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING!?” this was too surreal for you.

Feeling the large skeleton shift a little, you did your best to keep yourself hidden behind them, “staring at this lamp,” you noticed his head tilt over to the lamp where the kid was which prompted you to angrily grip his arm that he completely ignored, “it's really cool, do you wanna look?”

Preparing to just step out and make an escape with the child as you temporary trust was dying rather fast, you heard loud stomping, “NO I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!!” glancing up to get some sort of context as to what was even happening, you could hear the skeleton snickering at his brothers temper tantrum, “WHAT IF A HUMAN COME S THROUGH HERE!?” you groaned quietly, wanting terribly to be out of that stressful situation, “I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE, I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!”

You could hear the desperation in his brothers' voice, “THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS,” biting your lip, you held back the chuckle that threatened to escape at the childish narcissism – you caught a sidelong glance from the skeleton covering you, you unfortunately couldn't read 'eyelights' too well, “WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!” you didn't really know how you felt about that statement but when he mentioned something about receiving 'FRIENDSHIP' from others, you figured he had some truly misconstrued idea about it.

“Hmm,” the sudden sigh that erupted from the parka-wearing skeleton caught you off guard and you almost stepped in sight of his brother from the deep rumble, “maybe this lamp will help you,” you didn't really know why he was so adamant on trying to get his brother to check out the object, but you were definitely not at all happy with the prospect of it.

“SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!!” you had to shove your face into the back of the skeletons jacket to cover your laughter at the ironic word usage, “ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!” although the words were harsh for a sibling to even say, you could hear the brotherly concern in them.

“hey, take it easy,” you felt the skeleton shrug, “i've gotten a _ton_ of work done today,” you knew what was coming and sighed exasperatedly, if there was one thing you understood about jokes, was that you could spot a terrible pun from far away, “a skele- _ton,_ ” you could practically hear the generic 'ba-dum-tss' in your head as the other brother began to pout and scold him, “c'mon you're smiling.”

“I AM AND I HATE IT!” you could hear a restrained 'nyeh' coming from them and you felt yourself chuckling softly once again, you seemed to lose some of their conversation as you tried to figure out what kind of human-hunter could be so comical - then again, you knew a few 'good' humans who were far to horrid a person to believe they were, “I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES...,” there was a pause, as if they were contemplating, “AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE,” _oh god, “BACKBONE_ INTO IT!” the pun was weak, but the slew of 'NYEHEHEH's that erupted from the other brother sent you into a laughing frenzy. You literally had your face inhaling into the skeleton's jacket to try and silence yourself – thankfully the other brother was so caught up in his own joke that he didn't notice.

You could hear him walking away before leaving a final 'HEH' to rub in the joke he just attempted. Taking a moment to catch yourself, you sighed, thankful that the tense situation was over.

“ok, you can come out now,” the skeleton chuckled a little himself, but paused to look down at you, “you uhh...you okay kiddo?” puzzled by his question you noticed his eyes staring at his arm, you were still clutched onto him.

“Oh sorry,” you let go before the kid came over and got a hold of your hand, “just a bit tense, I mean...human hunter, doesn't sound too good to me,” you looked down to the kid with a frown, _what am I gonna do._ You tightened your hold.

“hmm,” glancing back you saw that he was staring intensely at you, _what is he second guessing himself now?,_ you took a subtle step back which he seemed to notice and he averted his gaze, clearly unfazed by whatever you trying to convey, “you oughta get going...he might come back,” his eyes seemed to brighten a little, literal lights in his eyes, “and if he does,” he shrugged, “you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes,” although he was giving you a warning, you wondered if it was serious or if he was pranking you just as much as he was his brother.

“Uhh thanks...Sans,” you regarded him with a smile and for a moment, he looked puzzled, but he simply shrugged while turning away with a wave, “c'mon short stuff,” you picked the kid up into your arms and turned to leave.

“actually, hey,” turning back to the sudden interruption, you adjusted the kid in your arms while looking at the strained look on the skeleton's face, “hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?” his eyes looked a bit pleading as he spoke, “I was thinking...my brother's been kind of down lately...” his words trailed a bit, sadness laced in his permanent features, “he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might make his day,” you tensed at the unspoken request that he was clearly dropping, your grip tightened on the kid, he seemed to notice, “don't worry, he's not dangerous,” you heard a chuckle escape his...teeth, “even if he tries to be.”

Processing just what he was trying to ask of you, you wondered if he was tricking you, _but why would he go through the trouble to hide you like that?,_ “Umm if it actually is safe then...sure, yeah we can entertain'em for a while,” you didn't want to upset him or cause any problems, so you accepted the request.

“thanks a million,” he visibly slouched before you, causing a smile to crease your lips, “i'll be up ahead,” he turned and headed in the direction of the ruins, which you didn't terribly understand, but you didn't question it either.

“Well...this should be fun right?” rubbing the kids back to soothe them, you turned back around and traveled down the path, coming to a split, “hmm,” you heard water coming from the left, so you decided to head straight where mumbling was echoing in the distance, “do you wanna get down just in case short stuff?” their grip tightened faster than you could finish your sentence, so you sighed obligingly - as much as they didn't like humans they were showing a lot of vulnerability, “alright, but I'll have to put you down at some point,” heading down the curved path, you spotted a familiar blue parka, _how the hell did he get over here?_

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” the taller skeleton, Papyrus, paused at the sound of your crunching steps, “...” he immediately glanced back to his brother whom glanced over to you – a double take, a triple take, a quadruple take and many more before he spoke, “SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT A...A HUMAN!?!?!” you felt that their gaze had blown right passed you, you were an invisible force.

“uhhh, actually,” he shrugged a little, “I think that's a rock,” you took a peek behind you and frowned at the large stone next to you, _are you kidding?_

“OH,” you were prepared to slap yourself in the face as Papyrus was completely ready to shrug you off. He apparently didn't know what a human looked like, _well creatures down here are coming in many different shapes and sizes...I can see why he wouldn't_.

“hey,” you quirked at Sans' sidelong gaze as you continued to stand there rather amused, clearly amazed at how oblivious the taller brother was, “what's that in front of the rock?” you gestured a small wave, which the taller skeleton jumped at.

“OH MY GOD!!” he turned to his brother while failing miserably to whisper, “IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?”

Hearing the snicker that caused the shorter skeleton to shake, you groaned quietly by how much entertainment he was apparently getting out of the scene, “yes.”

“OH MY GOD!!” you jumped at the sudden shout, a shout that could make song birds cry, “SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!!” he cheered while shaking in his boots with excitement, _such a kid,_ “UNDYNE WILL...I'M GONNA...I'LL BE SO,” he looked about ready to burst as you shifted onto your other hip, your fingers beginning to tingle from the icy breeze, “POPULAR!! POPULAR!! POPULAR!!” as if realizing you had begun to chuckle at his little rant, he cleared his 'throat' loudly, “...HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!” you could see the look of determination in his eyes, which you honestly hadn't felt any hostility from, “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!! WILL STOP YOU!!” you nodded along obediently, eyes looking over to the shorter skeleton who watched his brother with content, “I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN! THEN!!” you quirked at his pause as he rubbed his chin in thought, “I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT,” you found yourself laughing again and an...orange broke across his cheeks, “IN ANY CASE, CONTINUE...ONLY IF YOU DARE,” immediately, he bounded off with his contagious laughter of 'nyeh's causing you to chuckle even harder.

Taking a moment to calm your amused brain, you realized Sans was staring at you again, which you gave a smile to. His cheeks seemed to rise a little as his own smile widened, _how does that even work?_

“Well,” he shrugged nonchalantly, “that went well,” he turned to leave, “don't sweat it, kid,” he winked at you, something you weren't sure was even possible for a skeleton, “I'll keep an eye socket out for ya,” rolling your eyes, you waved him off as he walked away.

Ready to head off and follow their tracks, you felt the child push off of you, “hey kid, you need t-” their butt hit the floor with a soft 'poff' and they quickly stood to run off down the path, “short stuff!” you caught sight of something green come fluttering toward the kid and you immediately made to tackle them out of the way until you heard it chuckle to itself.

“Hahaha, ice puns are 'snow' problem,” the thing was laughing at itself as its clawed feet crunched in the snow before the child – it's green scales clicking as it shook, “hahaha 'snow' problem,” you honestly didn't understand what was going on until the kid started running off again. You wanted to get a better look at the creature to take note of any possible dangerous features, but the kid just wouldn't stop moving.

“Yo, slow down,” you ran after them, groaning as they came to a stop by another station where a little dog head was carved out above the counter, “kid you've seriously got to,” you paused at the appearance of a rather large dog wearing a pink tank top glancing around suspiciously with a red bone in it's mouth – two rather lengthy blades were in it's two front paws, “kid...you need to st-” your throat clogged when something came pushing out of the child's chest, “what the hell?” you didn't have time to focus because the dog growled aloud which pulled your undivided attention.

“Did something move?” _it's talking,_ you watched in amazement at its flitting gaze, only superfluous blinks being your only possible action, “was it my imagination?” you felt your chest tighten as the kid went to pet the dog, like it standing on two legs, talking and wielding blades was no big deal, “What!? I've been pet!” it barked at the top of its lungs as their small fingers brushed the black fur, eyes bugging out while it yapped, “Pet! Pot! Pat! Pot! Pet!” _this is a dream, this is all just a weird dream_ , “s-s-s-s-something just pet me...ss-s-s-something that isn't moving! I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!!!”

The dog vanished behind the counter and you heard something clink in the child's hand before it disappeared, “how are you so nonchalant with all of this?” you noticed the kid tense at your sudden outburst before looking at you as you moved over to them, “this place is other worldly and you don't even seem the least bit...amazed,” checking them up and down, you wondered if they simply lived in a daydream their whole life, “...is there something you need to tell me?” you watched their hands bawl into fists as they frowned. You gained no response.

“Alright,” you raised your hands as if surrendering, wanting to gauge where you both stood in your emergent relationship, “still don't want my attention? S'fine...just stop running off like a maniac okay short stuff?” with no response nor indication that they were going to listen to your rather small and mundane request, you sighed tiredly to yourself and immediately began marching your way passed them, _I really don't have the patience right now_ , “let's get a move on,” you couldn't exactly pinpoint what was going on with them since they refused to ask for your attention, so you refused to place your emotions into whatever level of association you had with them, “if you wanted to stay in those ruins a little longer, you should've said something...I'm not putting up with your sourpuss attitude all day.”

“THEN DON'T!” taken aback by the sudden shout, you took a moment to prepare yourself before turning around, your eyes locking onto a pair of glowing red ones, “WE NEVER ASKED YOU TO TAKE CARE OF US!” allowing them to rant their bubbling rage, you were too busy trying to grasp what the 'we' was to actually fully listen to their words, _split personality maybe?_ _Sure is talkative when they're angry_ _,_ “you're not needed, we can handle ourselves just fine! That's right, too late for apologies...there's no going back, not in control,” you watched them heavily pant while a creepy smile started crossing over their lips, “there's no point in this world...no point, no point, no p-point,” crossing your arms, you gave them a stern glare as their weird 'glitching' eased up a little, “don't look at me like that! YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND?!”

“Enlighten me,” those words seemed to get them to pause and reprocess, their fury simmering just a bit, “what's got you so worked up?” waiting for some kind of explanation to their tantrum, you sighed as you received nothing but slumped shoulders and an averted gaze, “what are you waiting for then?” their eyes locked onto you in irritation, “one word kid...one word,” it took them a moment to acknowledge what you meant and you caught that sudden hiccup of desperation from their eyes when they understood your words - it was like a switch going on and off with them and there was no telling what it was that would trip them up, “I won't argue either,” they glitched once again, running through a variety of negative emotions in a matter of seconds – sadness, anger, desperation, contempt...pain.

“Why won't you yell at me?” you raised a brow questionably, picking up a stray feather of what was happening with them, “hate me, just scream at me, get rid of me!” their tantrum flared once again, they _wanted_ you to reject them on your own, “why won't you just LEAVE US!?”

“If you don't demand...I won't comply,” you looked off to the distance to ensure no one or thing was watching you, completely aware of how they tried to manipulate you into making the final choice, _this is on you kid_ _,_ “if you're so full of guilt, confusion, anger...and fear, maybe you should do something about it,” you no longer had anything to say, you knew those words were enough, so you turned and headed off, “I'm moving ahead, so hurry up,” your boots crunched quietly in the snow as you tried to just calm yourself.

As you moved along down the path, you barely registered the blue parka coming into view, _not yet,_ “hey,” you didn't want to speak nor acknowledge, yet you begrudgingly turned your eyes toward the large skeleton, “here's something important to remember,” he was watching you intently for some sort of reaction, but you honestly didn't feel up to even dropping a couple words for him, “uhh kiddo?”

You weren't in the mood. You wanted to desperately just listen, to talk, but your whole mood was completely tilted and it left a sour taste in your mouth - you didn't want to leak that grotesque attitude into the conversation. You sighed.

“Sans,” he blinked at you with a raised brow bone, possibly a little surprised at the interruption, “could you just save it for the kid, they seem to be getting the hang of this...stuff?” averting your gaze as you realized the kid was truly the definition of someone ahead of their years, you groaned and held your hand up to keep him from talking - you didn't necessarily hate kids, but you didn't like them either, “I need some silence, I'm sorry, I'll do your brother's puzzles, but I just,” no longer wanting to explain yourself as it was honestly a personal issue, you quietly walked away from the bothered look that was on the skeletons face. You needed air.

It had always been easy for you to deal with bratty children or adults, so you knew how to promptly sort things out with them when a tantrum came up. Although it did aggravate you quite a bit when arguments developed into verbal abuse and physical harm, you were easily able to keep your emotions in check. You did leave with a small residue of negative emotions, but a few seconds to breathe or be alone was enough to set you straight. _Such a freak,_ you thought as you stared down at the icy floor below you. You were usually always stable...too stable and it irked people how little you caved under verbal assaults. It was true, you had the urge to just shut the kid up, but you knew that would only leave room for more anger and contempt to fester - you didn't know if you could handle that for the entire journey in another world. It didn't help that they kept pushing you away and reeling you back in like a fish, their desire to hide everything from you while at the same time expecting you to stay and wanting you to dump them off making everything all the more confusing. It was like they were literally two different people fighting for dominance and you were caught in the middle of their quarrel, their emotional punching bag.  _I didn't sign up for this,_ you sighed while taking a moment to release the last of the negative energy that was harboring in you. Immediately, you turned your feet correctly and slid across the ice, watching your reflection wobble underneath you. Feeling the cold air nipping at your cheeks more harshly, you chanced a couple of quick twirls before jumping onto powdery ground. Promptly, you dropped onto the snow, your face pressing firmly into the cold substance. It felt amazing.

“heheheh,” the sudden deep chuckles that echoed from the other side of the ice surprised you a little, but you were too busy trying to make yourself feel better to care. _It's an adventure, just another cave exploration, that's all ______, everything'll be fine, you've just got a child to look after._ Your ears pricked at the sound of devious cackles echoing in the distance.

“Guess I should do this,” you sighed in total awareness of who that laughter belonged to, taking a few more seconds of the cold before getting up and moving through the snow, “this'll be fun,” you remembered the rather tall skeletons' rants and felt the beginnings of a smile creeping onto your face, “...real fun.”

Taking a glance back to ensure everything was okay, you spotted Sans towering over the small child, eyes watching you, “...hmm,” you didn't like the air that hovered around them, but you quietly moved along, “let's see what we're dealing with,” for a while, all you heard were the crunching of your boots and the cold air whistling in your ears, “...it's so nice out here,” you enjoyed the quiet, not as though you were a total silence lover, but it was a place where you could think without distractions. _There's too much to think about though._ You heard the beginnings of an argument in the distance.

Grumbling quietly, you came to a clearing where you spotted the two skeletons, your eyes grazing over the shorter one for a moment, _you're some sort of ninja,_ YOU'RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!” the statement left you a bit frazzled as you turned your attention to the taller skeleton. _But-_

“i think that's called...sleeping,” his eyes fluttered over to you which you couldn't help chuckling at – it was obvious the taller brother, Papryus wasn't at all fond of 'recharging the old batteries'. After a moment of retaliation, he caught sight of you himself.

“OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” he cleared his throat profusely before waving his arms animatedly, “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU...MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!” you couldn't tell, but you were positive a couple of 'nyeh's began escaping his large mouth, “I THINK YOU'LL FIND THIS ONE...QUITE SHOCKING!!!” you chuckled softly at his excitement, reminding you greatly of a cartoon or comic relief character, “FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE,” _hold up, what?_ your heart sped up at that remark, but you were given a reassuring nod by the shorter skeleton which did quite little to ease you up, “WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE...THIS ORB WILL DELIVER A HEARTY ZAP,” you spotted the blue orb sitting in his hand, which you didn't quite understand why _he_ was holding it, “OK...YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW.”

Worriedly, you stared at the floor below you. You didn't want to make a mistake, but you didn't really have any other option but to go. _Gotta do what you gotta do I guess,_ sighing in resignation that his life was probably in your hands, you hesitantly took a step forward, _it'll probably just be a little tiny shock on the hand,_ _nothing more, just a little sting_. Immediately, you heard the loud crackles of electricity flickering from the skeleton as he spasmed erratically in place. You covered your mouth in total surprise by how serious of a zap he was receiving, your stomach flipping in agony at the painful sight. Immense guilt rushed through you as you were the one that caused the shock, albeit unwillingly – you didn't want to go anymore. You painfully watched until the zapping finally stopped and he wobbled about.

                                                 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” you were very much concerned by his new charred black appearance, a smoke floating off of his clothes – immediately, he shook the soot away while orange colored his whole face by probable embarrassment. You didn't want to play anymore.

“SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO!?” you bit your lip in uneasiness with the 'puzzles' that were being created, especially if they were going to hurt the quirky skeleton...or the kid, _he's a human-hunter, why should you care?_

“i think the human has to hold the orb,” you received another sidelong glance from the shorter skeleton, which you assumed he was easily able to tell you were unhappy from the angry glare that was plastered to your face – his gaze averted quickly.

“OH, OKAY,” you wanted to protest, but zipped your lip once Papyrus began his trek through the maze himself – he was leaving foot prints, _oh thank god_ , “HOLD THIS PLEASE,” surprised by the politeness of his words, you jumped as the blue orb was tossed up into the air, “OKAY, TRY NOW,” as you caught the small object, you noted that he was already back on the other side.

“Hmmm,” you gripped the ball tightly to your chest, not wanting it to even come an inch close to any of the invisible walls, “...okay.”

Carefully you stepped toward the intimidating path, tensing when a small hand clutched your sleeve, “you're finally here,” not even bothering to look down, you knew they were probably going to avoid your gaze – you also didn't want to distract yourself in hopes of not zapping you both to death, “c'mon,” you eyed the footprints before quickly making work of the puzzle, not wanting to feel the heat of the ball of energy in your palms anymore. You exhaled a breath that you didn't realize you were even holding in once you stepped off the route of footprints.

“INCREDIBLE!” Papyrus' screech actually left you feeling much happier than expected – it meant the puzzle was solved and nobody else had to get hurt, “YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL,” you caught him looking off as though he were suspicious of something, “YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY...TOO EASILY,” he eyed the puzzle a little irritably, clearly upset that his trap was solved, “HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY,” you couldn't help the smile that grew on your lips when he heavily patted the shorter skeleton's shoulder, “IT WAS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER SANS!!” for some reason, you felt extreme relief, but also worry at that statement, _the hell is this guy capable of?_ You glowered at him, angered that the puzzles apparently involved a rather high level of pain. _Harmless my ass!_

“Wonderful,” you mumbled while giving the taller skeleton a soft smile while handing him his orb back, you were definitely glad it was no longer in your fleshy hands, “you're not injured from that uhhh zap...are you?” you questioned him worriedly, which received a chain of 'nyeh's while he puffed out his chest confidently.

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN TAKE MORE THAN JUST A HEARTY ZAP!” you felt a chuckle about ready to erupt, when a small bit of blush crossed his face, “THANK YOU FOR ASKING HUMAN!!” and he bounded off, a bit fidgety in his wide strides.

Gazing at the child beside you to make sure they weren't fried or anything, you heard the crunching of snow as the larger skeleton approached you, “hey, thanks...” surprised by the appreciative words with how much menace you were exerting, you were rather confounded by the widening smile plastered to his face when you looked at him, “my brother seems like he's having fun...”

“If being zapped by a million megawatts for five seconds is fun then alright,” he shrugged at your sarcastic remark which you'd hoped would properly portray how upset you really were, you frowned at his rather carefree gesture, but then again you were positive they were made of entirely different stuff compared to humans.

“by the way,” he chuckled softly while gazing in the direction his brother had gone, “did you see the weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party,” your lips quirked at the random change in subject as you had thought the outfit did look a bit comical, “he hasn't worn anything else since...keeps calling it his 'battle body',” you giggled a little, “man, isn't my brother cool?” those words seemed to really come from the heart.

“Really now?” the uncomfortable vibes from before had completely vanished from him, a much more relaxed manor in his posture as he spoke, “that's so adorable,” he lazily gazed down to you, which you refuted with a soft smile, “he must be the life of the party,” you couldn't quite comprehend how you were so comfortable talking to a giant magical skeleton living underground who had sent you blindly into a death trap, how you were not stricken with permanent fear by bipedal, talking dogs with blades, how you were okay with an overly tall goat mom providing you bed and a home. _It's all just a weird dream,_ _THAT or I'm in a coma_ _._

“hey,” pulled from your rambling thoughts, you watched a mitten wave in front of your face, “earth to human, are you alive?” taken aback by his worried tone, you sighed.

“Sorry, just thinking,” you paused a moment at the loosening grip on your arm and looked down to the bundle of tension beside you – they looked about ready to burst into a run, which you immediately pulled your sleeve from their grasp at, “you're gonna bail aren't you?” they gave you a look of surprise as though offended that you would've even asked, which you furrowed your brows at before sighing, “I can't stop you...go ahead short stuff,” they continued to look at you with the same slackened jaw, which you gave a soft smile to, “I'll catch up, just try not to cause any trouble alright? Although...the puzzles-”

“i already told you before,” Sans looked at you with a smile, but it was obvious he wasn't...smiling anymore, “he's harmless-”

“Well it's wonderful that you think so,” you crossed your arms defiantly, clearly bothered by his unnecessary reinstatement – who was he to tell you what to feel or think?, “but the title 'human-hunter' doesn't completely rub me right considering that I'm, y'know, _a human_...and I've got a _human_ child with me and not to mention this puzzle would've definitely killed us,” you received a sudden scowl of the eyes that quickly vanished, you were quickly learning that he was rather expressive for a smiling skeleton.

“psh yeah...child,” your head tilted on instinct at the sudden change in attitude and you were ready to retort when you remembered the kid. Looking back in prayer, you were welcomed with a trail of tiny foot prints.

“Ugggh,” rubbing the bridge of your nose when that tiny bit of hope was snuffed as you started to walk off, you heard a harsh and very much irritated huff.

“whatever, the kid'll be fine,” you immediately shot him a nasty and infuriated scowl that seemed to catch him off guard, he was dancing on rather thin ice with you and the ground was cracking quite a bit with his jabs and jives. Your glare only seemed to irk him for a second as his face seemed to morph back into a relaxed, dopy grin - you could pick up tension where his hands in his pockets tugged the jacket a bit too much.

“They're a CHILD,” affronted by the sudden chuckle that escaped his teeth apparently without his consent as he forced himself silent, you puffed with even more fury at his piggish attitude, “d'you think this is some sort of game!?” his eyes widened in shock by your condescending statement of a question, eyes shifting to large round moons in his sockets – _that definitely shut him up_ , “I've got a KID running around with _god knows_ how many creatures out to _kill_ them,” you felt your emotions flaring quickly against your wishes, _strange what's so special about him to get me going? Meh, probably all of the stress,_ “as much as you'd like to think that I should be comfortable because Papyrus is your brother, you're dead wrong,” your finger jabbed at his sternum, his sockets blinking bewilderingly at you, “if he can't harm anyone, then that ELECTRICAL TRAP wouldn't have even been made from the start,” you were growling at that point, tired of the complete stranger trying to control you and bait you onto a passive path of acceptance, “so don't go trying to MANIPULATE me into thinking that I should be okay with my life literally, and I mean LITERALLY on the line, INCLUDING A CHILD'S,” your remark wracked your body with grief, _oh god I hope not_ , “we didn't ask to be shoved into some sadistic survival game with you monsters,” turning on your heel, you muttered as you stomped away, “we're not toys to play with.”

“hey,” a sudden firm grip was at your arm and you paused to process, ready to swing a fist if needed, “there are things you know and things you _know_ pal. don't talk like you _know_ anything down here,” turning to acknowledge the skeleton, you caught sight of a cyan blue eye glaring fiercely at you, flames licking out wildly – he was trying to intimidate you, “i won't let you hurt my friends, i will stop you at all costs if you even _think_ of putting a hand on my brother and i will most definitely give you a bad time,” his smile twitched with anger, you knew you couldn't pull your arm from his vice grip, so you settled with glaring back at his ruthless flame of an eye. _I can deal with a wild animal,_ you took a deep breath.

                                       

“That's hypocritical,” your temper completely calmed at the smoothness of your own voice as you regarded him coolly, “you all have the authority to harm us in any way you please when we've done nothing wrong...but we don't have the right to protect ourselves or simply live?...I mean it makes sense down here, since you're apparently hunting us like game,” the statement seemed to enlarge his eye sockets and extinguish the blue flame sparking from his left eye, “...you've all definitely adopted _something_ from us humans,” the moment his strong grasp loosened, you ripped your arm away, “kill me if you're seriously bothered about us wanting to live and feel safe,” when you gained no response from the once fuming skeleton, you chuckled bitterly at his silence, “you know, I'm honestly not surprised you all want to kill us, we humans do some pretty fucked up things out of fear,” frowning, you remembered your grandfather's large leather book, “I just thought that monsters would be different, but I guess hatred is the same wherever it comes from.”

Awaiting his attack to rip you to shreds or something, you continued to stand there to receive some sort of reprimand for your bold and rather presumptuous remarks, “if you need a human to kill, then kill me...not the kid,” turning your back to the no longer rearing bear, you walked away in reassurance that he was indefinitely not going to kill you for the time being, “see you at the next puzzle,” although you honestly didn't feel up to solving more problems or even seeing another monster, you were someone who saw things through, “hope I can make your brother happy,” _I wish I didn't agree to this._ You had a kid to take care of after all. A kid who couldn't decide if they wanted your care or not.

You wandered your way through the snow, saddened by the heavy dispute. You honestly thought you had made a friend, but you were unsurprisingly disappointed. You had been played a fool. Toriel had spent her time dithering on whether to even inform you of any possible exit, you were very much able to fathom why at that point - the large skeleton was a glaringly large example. Even though you knew whatever the monsters were feeling towards humans was justified, you couldn't help but feel like you were personally attacked - your life had been threatened, a CHILD's life had been threatened. You found yourself forming a less than fair opinion of the monsters at that point. Settling on just dropping the predicament, you walked and walked, praying you'd find the kid in one piece. To your disappointment it took longer than you had hoped. You'd come across a crossword puzzle, a cold plate of partially eaten spaghetti on a table, multiple areas where the floor was covered in giant green O's, and a giant panel of tiles glowing pink and red. You prayed that the puzzles had been solved and that the kid wasn't piked on a spear or something. _Though, the puzzles look completely...harmless,_ your gut twisted drastically.

Shaking your head, you glowered at your far too kind heart. You had every right to be angry with the large skeleton, he acted as though being threatened with death was a joke, he had even threatened to kill you for wanting to stay alive. He berated the kid and acted like they were of no importance, as if their life was a meaningless speck of existence. He was cruel...disconnected. Hell, even Papyrus had made an attempt at your life, whether it was purposefully or not,  _but why do I feel so guilty?_ You just needed to breathe, to clear your head, to refocus your agenda. That's when you felt all the fear in the world grip you like a vice.

Your eyes locked onto your kid carelessly sliding across ice. You could see the puzzle they were working on – it was elaborate, but easily solvable. They looked distracted, which you weren't at all surprised when you found them heading straight for the ledge after missing a switch on the floor. _Dammit kid!_

“Hey,” although you could see ground covered in soft snow far down below, you knew their tiny neck was going to snap the way they were preparing to fall head first – you were sliding across the ice in seconds, “short stuff, hang on!” you felt your heart racing a mile a minute as they struggled for as long as possible to stay up, but their short wiry legs couldn't hold and they plummeted, “SHIT,” instinctively, you dove off the edge without hesitation, gripping onto them with all your might, “I've got you!” with as much struggle and flailing as possible, you were able to turn to where your back was going to be the first thing to hit the floor down below. _Ple_ _a_ _se don'_ _t_ _break anything, please don't break anything._ The moment your spine collided with the powdery snow down below, everything fell silent as your lungs were crushed to exhale every last bit of air that filled them. Your ears were ringing a loud pitch and your stomach ached as the kid panted heavily in your arms. Your back burned from the intense impact, but you were glad you saved the child's neck. The pain was of little hindrance if it meant saving a life, _Thank god for freakin' snow._ Staring up above to the high ceiling, you felt bits of snow melt against your cheeks as they dribbled down from the ledge.

_You could've died yourself_ _you know_ _, could've snapped your_ _own_ _neck or even gotten both of you killed. I didn't though, I saved_ _their_ _bratty little behind. I'm keeping this kid safe for as long as I possibly can, I don't care if it possibly even kills me. No one is going to change that._   _I promised._

“Man that was close,” finally able to breathe properly, you winced as you carefully sat yourself up with the kid, “you alright short stuff?” they clung to you a moment longer while you gently stroked their still back, “hey,” they slowly pulled away from your gentle hug, hands still in fists on your one suit like you were a life line, “geez kid,” you ached like no tomorrow, but you were relieved there was still a life in your arms, “you gotta be more careful alright? Hmm? What is it?” their coal black eyes were open wide with pupils dilated, lips quivering as they failed to form words, “what's the matter?” you checked them for any injuries or bruises, “kid if you don't say anything I can't help you out,” following their petrified gaze, you hadn't spotted anything out of the ordinary – there was just snow, “kid I don-” your nose wrinkled at the overwhelming smell of iron, “what the heck? Where's it,” a burst of fire erupted in your side when your limb tapped against something stiff and you slowly raised your arm, “well what do you know,” lodged between your ribs was the toy knife the kid had asked you to hold onto, handle deep and firmly in place, “who knew a toy could do any damage?” you tried for a chuckle at the surprising revelation but your vision tunneled almost instantly and you felt yourself slouch into the kids arms.

                                                     

“Ahhh crap,” you were practically numbed from all the snow in your clothes, but it didn't stop the affects of a stab wound slapping you in the face, “hey short stuff,” you sighed a controlled breath as they laid you on your left side, not wanting to agitate the object in your right, “...you need to get out of here,” as if choking on the very request you made, they shook their head animatedly as their hands continued to grip onto you, “I'm serious...you need to go,” you felt the beginnings of a quiver in your lip from the resentful anger in the pit of your stomach, but you furrowed your brows as they continued to try and coax you, “HEY! LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE ALRIGHT?!” your shout was enough to zip their lip and you quickly fidgeted to move their hands from your face, “just go alright, I'll...I'll be fine,” you kept your eyes on them with a smile, “just let me rest a bit, I'll catch up to you...I can fix th-urgh,” you winced as you gestured toward the handle carefully, “I've dealt with this stuff before...now get out of here,” they continued to sit there, eyes bewildered and mouth agape, “NOW!” you demanded with as much authority as possible, _they don't need to see you die._

For a moment, they gritted their teeth as they weighed their options – you quickly placed your hand to their face to stop them, “you'll be fine short stuff, just go,” you chuckled softly, which they immediately tore away from, feet kicking up snow as they ran off, “...okay,” letting out a deep breath, you finally welcomed the wracking shivers that begged to erupt for so long, “hmmm,” you felt the pain surging through you on unbearable levels, “well at least it's not bleeding too much,” you chuckled as your eyes caught sight of a tiny patch of red snow forming underneath you, “...I hope that kid's gonna be okay...sorry Toriel, I screwed up,” your vision grew blotchy and your body grew tired – you wondered why you were so adamant on trying to keep your promise before your body slumped, “just a quick nap...just...nap,” resting your head back in the snow, you welcomed the biting cold against your skin as your senses began to die out. _It'll be like sleeping._

As your vision blacked out, you could barely make out the sound of crunching footsteps, “shit this is bad,” you had the sudden sense of floating go through you, a warmth hugging at your left side, “hang on bud, just stay with me alright?” as much as you wanted to, you couldn't. Your eyes slid shut against your wishes, against the quiet murmurs that prayed you not to. You were tired and you needed silence. _Just like sleeping._

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so you guys can contact me through tumblr if you'd like to. I don't bite and you can always request art and such if you would like to as well.  
> Make sure to leave a kudos or a comment if you want me to know what you think. :>  
> [AncientDoodles](http://ancientdoodles.tumblr.com/)


End file.
